Love Has No Cure
by Shinsun
Summary: The sequel to Rock Your World. Something is very wrong with Vegeta and Goku is determined to find out what. Worry for his lover causes him to be careless, however, and after Vegeta is injured and put in the hospital; Goku has to wonder if the problem may be more serious than he originally thought. The dire situation also begs the question: can either live without the other?
1. Part 1

**Love Has No Cure**

Part 1 – Beginning

If there's one thing I've learned over the course of my life, it's that even when you think something's over; it's never actually ends. Many battles I thought were won or lost had actually only just started, many dreams, many nightmares I thought were over had only just begun, and just when I think my story had already reached its end, it's only just beginning.

I woke to the subtle sound of my lover sliding out of bed, squinting open one eye to see him pad softly toward the bathroom, tail swishing agitatedly. I disregard the discomfort pulsing off him in waves in favor of admiring his lithe, nude body. Shallow of me, yes, but I could never quite get over Vegeta's feral beauty, no matter how I stared. And the fact that I got to see, to feel, that much perfect, bronze skin almost every day made me one of the happiest people on Earth.

A few minutes passed and Vegeta crept back into bed and slid into my arms.

"What's wrong?" I whispered, nuzzling his neck.

"Nothing Kakarot, just a headache. Go back to sleep," he mumbled, settling in my embrace with a sigh.

"Did you take something for it?"

"Yeah, it should kick in in a bit,"

I took his advice and drifted back to sleep, soothing my lover with a quiet purr. His tail twined with mine and slipped into an uneasy state of rest.

"Daddy! 'Geta! Wake up!" was the warning we got before Goten pounced on us, shaking us to the full extent of wakefulness despite my yelp of surprise and Vegeta's startled cursing.

Vegeta recovered first, glaring at the demi-Saiyan teen and growling,

"How many times do I have to tell you, brat? It's _Ve_geta, not ''Geta', not 'Veggie', not 'V', you may _not_, under any circumstances, give the Prince of All Saiyans nicknames unless you have an insistent death wish!"

Goten smirked, "Whatever you say, _'Geta_,"

I had the foresight to shield my face as Vegeta leapt from the bed, flinging Goten off as well and flaring to level two of Super Saiyan with a snarl.

"I'm serious, brat!"

I grabbed his wrist gently and pulled him back into the bed, laughing in harmony with my youngest son, who was rolling on the floor, giggling.

"Come on, Vegeta, you don't want to scar him with your nudity," I snickered.

Vegeta smirked over his shoulder, then dropped out of Super Saiyan in a rush, breathing hard and sweating. I looked at him concernedly, he'd only been powered up for all of two seconds and he looked like he'd run a mile.

His charcoal eyes met mine for a moment, then he attempted a smile, shrugging off my fretting glance.

"I'm fine," he muttered, "But the headache's back,"

"Do you want me to - ?" I began, he waved me off.

"It's no big deal, I'll be okay,"

Goten had gotten up off the floor and was sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Why'd you wake us up like that?" I asked, I was about to add '_why so early?'_ but according to the clock on the bedside table it was almost noon. Not exactly the crack of dawn.

"Be_cause_," Goten rolled his eyes as if I'd asked the dumbest question ever, "Bulma told you guys to take a break from sparring and screwing each other to come to her party or she'd blow up the gravity room and you guys's bedroom with dynamite. It's _today_, you know."

I groaned and leaned back, against my pillows, rubbing my eyes exasperatedly.

"I forgot it was today,"

Vegeta's tail twitched, "I think she's serious about the dynamite; that woman's not known for jesting,"

Goten hid a laugh behind his hand.

"Well come on, let's go," I stretched and stood, looping my tail around one of the sheets and wrapping it around my waist like a skirt to hide my own nudity, "Bulma's wrath is something of legendary; we should do our best not to piss her off _at all_ or she'll probably shave our tails off."

Goten inched off the bed and left the room, still snickering.

This was going to be a long day.

TBC


	2. Part 2

**Love Has No Cure**

Part 2 – The Scene Of The Crime

Bulma had gone all-out; but that was nothing unusual. She'd probably celebrate the sun coming up if it gave her an excuse to dress up and make everyone get together. I had no idea why she was having this barbecue-party-get-together… whatever it was…. but I figured I should just do what she said. Show up, try to be social, and take advantage of the free food.

Though, somewhere in the back of my mind, I was nervous as hell. That wasn't normal for me; but the last time I'd gone to one of these get-togethers – almost four years ago, no wonder Bulma was overdue for another – I'd been tricked, handcuffed, tortured by my own son, and almost killed. According to Vegeta I _did_ die, for, like, three seconds.

Ever since then, I'd been more withdrawn; only truly comfortable around Vegeta and my sons. And even then, I'd still have the occasional nightmare, or shrink away from someone's touch like a caged animal. I was ashamed to admit it; I kept telling myself that that day hadn't affected me. Only my involuntary flinches and my new, more twisted song lyrics told the truth.

Vegeta seemed to sense my unease; he kept shooting worried glances at me and curling his tail around mine. I told him with my eyes that I was grateful for the show of comfort, and decided to grin and bear it.

Bulma all but bowled us over, streaking toward us like she had super speed and hugging us both at the same time. So great was her enthusiasm that she made Vegeta stagger and I all but shoved her away in my instinct to break her grip and get away. She stepped back, smiling.

Then, as if she had some kind of magic, expression-changing powers, the grin slid off her face and was replaced by a scowl.

"You two haven't come over in almost two years!" she shrieked, fuming, "The last time I saw you was your anniversary, and even then it was only for, like, two minutes! Is it so hard to just stop by and say hello? I mean I _know_ you Saiyans love to train, but do you have to spar every second of every day? Can't you -?" She stopped suddenly, blinking.

Vegeta was shielding me from her rage, and I loath to admit it, but I was cringing against him, shivering. Vegeta spoke eventually, keeping his tone even, but there was frustration and even anger underlying his calm words.

"Woman, stop shouting _please_," Bulma's eyes widened at his use of the 'p' word, "Can't you see you're scaring Kakarot to death? The last person to yell at him like that did so while all but ripping his tail out and then murdering him. No wonder he hasn't come by in so long, even the smallest thing can bring back memories from that day."

Bulma stared for a good three or four seconds before speaking, when she did, it was in a small voice.

"Oh Goku, I'm sorry. I didn't think you still…. I mean when I saw you last, you weren't… I'm sorry…."

I took a deep breath and blinked at her, gently extricating myself from Vegeta's grip and walking up to her.

"That's okay," I said carefully, "You didn't know. It hasn't been so bad until recently, I guess I'm just not used to anyone outside my family being quite so…. exuberant…"

I noticed Vegeta's smile at my use of the word 'family'. It was pretty obvious that I considered him part of my family, but to say it out loud seemed to make him extremely pleased.

"Will you be okay? I mean… not _everyone's_ here, but there are some people who –" Bulma asked.

"I'll be fine," I don't know why, but I was suddenly irritated. _What, now I'm some kind of asylum patient?_ "I've been in the same house as Gohan all the time, and he was the one who –" I stopped myself at Vegeta's glance.

"Well, alright," Bulma said eventually, "Come on, there's plenty of food and I think we're drawing attention standing way over here."

Unable to resist the allure of food, Vegeta and I followed. Before, Vegeta's tail had been lightly cradling mine. Now, it had a death grip on it.

Krillin greeted me with a smile and a hug, mumbling that he'd missed me, and even waving and grinning at Vegeta. And of course Vegeta responded with his trademark smirk.

I lingered awkwardly, never more than a foot away from Vegeta, nibbling on some food I'd snatched and making whatever conversation I needed to with whoever approached me. I wasn't nervous anymore, I just felt out of place.

The sun was starting to set when Tien arrived, apologizing to Bulma and claiming to have been attacked by a mountain lion on his way over. I don't know if I believed him – he didn't have a scratch on him for one thing – but I'd been attacked by enough wild animals in my youth to not say anything about it.

Of course the first thing he did was walk up to me. My mind played the same few seconds over and over. Four years ago; his honest, friendly smile as he asked to show me something; the slight look of guilt as he proffered a thick circle of blue metal; the feeling of cold, unforgiving iron clamping around my wrist; his three eyes looking away as my ki was ripped away.

I took a slow breath, calming my mind. I didn't react this way around Gohan, why should I get so freaked out by Tien? Vegeta was at my side in an instant, asking with his eyes what was wrong and lacing his fingers with mine. I squeezed his hand to thank and reassure him.

Tien looked awkwardly at his feet before speaking.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, "I…. I didn't… Trunks… he…"

I felt my tail coil around my waist defensively, but my voice was even as I replied.

"It's fine. It wasn't your fault; no big deal."

_No big deal that you made me completely helpless, enabling my son to attack me and beat me within an inch of my life! No big deal that I believed you, trusted you, even let you put the godsdamned manacle on in the first place! _ My sarcastic thoughts surprised me. I looked away, berating myself mentally, _What is wrong with me? Why can't I get that stupid day out of my head? It was four years ago, for the gods' sakes! Why am I so damn weak?_

"Kakarot," Vegeta said warningly, struggling to meet my gaze. I could see everything he left unsaid written all over his face. _Don't blame yourself, I was just as shocked as you on that day, you're the strongest person I know, don't worry._

Of course Vegeta's faith was unwavering. I'd had a hard time believing he could be so loyal at first, but once his trust was earned, it was always unshakable and fierce.

Tien shifted his weight from foot to foot, as if debating whether he should say something else.

"It's really okay, Tien. I forgive you," In saying those words, I made them true. But even then, my traitorous mind remained skeptical.

Tien smiled a little.

"I don't know why I'm surprised," he said slowly, "Of all people, of course _you'd_ give me a second chance." Then he backed off. The most considerate thing he'd done all day.

Bulma's "party" went on into the night. I really just wanted to leave; mostly because I'd run out of things to say to people and was just standing around superfluously, trying not to eat all the food or get my tail tangled around something as it was lashing obsessively.

Vegeta had abandoned me to go talk to Bulma. Probably about Trunks – the only thing he ever talked to her civilly about. After a while Gohan showed up, swooping out of the sky to land a few inches away from me, buffeting me with ki from his flight.

Of course I'd seen him all the time, even if he lived with Videl now. He'd visited, he'd even trained with me; but for some reason, when he landed next to me right then, I shivered and damn near bolted away from him – whether by foot or Instant Transmission, I really didn't care in that moment.

_What the hell? I've been around him almost constantly since… since…._ I couldn't finish the thought, it sent chills down my spine.

"Hey, Dad," Gohan said cheerfully, snagging a glass of juice from the table and downing it in one gulp, "Sorry I'm late, I was working overtime,"

I tried to respond, but ended up just gasping breaths like a landed fish and staring.

"So… scene of the crime, huh?" he muttered, giving me a regretful look.

_Of course! _I realized, _That's what's bugging me so much! It's not the people, it's the place!_

"Yeah," I mumbled lamely, taking a glass of the juice myself and sipping it slowly.

"You look shaken up, what's the matter?"

_Trust him to read me like a book; being the genius he is._

"It's nothing; I'm just a little uneasy being in the same place with the same people as…"

"I understand," Gohan cut in, "Really, I almost didn't show up 'cause I knew everyone would stare at me. I can't seem to apologize enough and they still watch me like I'm gonna jump them and –"

He stopped and swallowed another glass of juice, trying to diffuse the tension but coming off as rather awkward.

I forced my tail to stay still, to not lash and twitch and totally give away my jumping nerves.

"Dad?" Gohan began gently, "Seriously, are you doing okay?"

I guess my face was the giveaway after all. I couldn't hold up the charade anymore.

"No, I'm not!" I snapped, shaking uncontrollably, "I…I just _can't_, Gohan, this is w-where I was _murdered!_ I've never died that way before; and yes, it was by choice, the blast was meant for V-Vegeta; but whenever….whenever I-I've died before it was against some kind of enemy; not in cold blood! Y-you're not an enemy, you're my son…." I surprised myself then by breaking down and sobbing into his shoulder, "You're my _son_…. How could you -? How _could_ you….?" I was aware that nearly everyone had stopped to stare, but I didn't care. I'd made it four years without shedding a tear over that day; I couldn't do it anymore.

"Dad…." Gohan murmured, hugging me to his chest, "There is no excuse for what I did… I'm not even going to try to defend myself. I'm more sorry for what happened than I've ever been about anything. I'd rather you kill me a thousand times now than have to experience that again. And I _do_ experience it; almost every night… t-the nightmares won't leave me alone…. I'm sure it's worse for you, it has to be… but I almost want to snap a ki manacle on my own wrist so I don't hurt anyone else…"

I sniffled and blinked my eyes dry, standing up straight. I felt ashamed for crying like a baby over something that shouldn't have even fazed the strongest person in the universe. I'd died before, and that last time it had only been for a few _seconds_, why was I still worked up about it almost half a decade later?

Vegeta suddenly came out of nowhere, whipping around the side of Capsule Corp and dashing over to me, eyes wild.

"What happened?" he demanded, grabbing Gohan by the shoulders and shaking him forcefully, "What the _hell_ happened, brat? Did you hurt him again? _Did _you? Answer me!"

"Vegeta," I said steadily, "Let him go, it's okay,"

"No! It's bloody well not okay, Kakarot!" he shouted, whirling around to face me, "Your ki went absolutely ballistic, I thought you were being attacked again!"

I saw behind the anger in his ebony eyes, he was scared; scared of losing me again.

"Vegeta, calm down," I took his hands in mine, attempting to sooth him. I winced when he gripped my fingers tight enough to break them. But I knew he was really trying to reassure himself that I was still there.

"Come on, Kakarot, we're going home," he said with a surprising lack of emotion.

"But –"

"I'm tired, it's late and I'm getting a headache again. Let's just go home."

I looked at his haggard face and exhausted eyes; his eyebrows furrowed as he winced with his throbbing head.

"Okay," I slid my hands out of his grip, turning to look at my son again, "Bye, Gohan,"

Gohan looked up long enough to smile tightly, "See you, Dad,"

"Come on," Vegeta smirked as he took to the air, "I bet Goten's been laughing it up because he got to stay home. Hopefully, the brat'll be asleep by the time we get back; I'm not up to being pounced on again."

I returned his smirk and took off, glancing once at the scene of the crime before blasting towards home.

TBC


	3. Part 3

**Love Has No Cure**

Part 3 – Something's Wrong

Vegeta's headache worsened the longer we flew. He didn't say anything; he just kept pressing the heel of his hand to his temple and wincing. By the time we got home, he was shaking a little. Not so much that he couldn't stand steadily, but when I brushed against him to get through the door, a light tremor eddied along his skin, which was radiating heat. Nothing unusual, the prince _was_ heat, but it was the shivers that worried me; so I told him to lie down and rest.

What _really_ got me worried was that he didn't protest; just nodded and walked away, muttering.

_Maybe he got sick or something…. He's never even had a cold in all the time I've known him. I can't ask him about it because he'll just put up the princely act and claim he's fine. What should I do?_

Goten was lying on the couch, watching TV lazily. He waved as I walked past, then sat up when I turned off the television.

"Hey Dad –" he began, looking at me quizzically.

"Did you notice anything_…. off_ about Vegeta lately, son?" I asked without preamble.

Goten scratched his head in a remarkably similar way to what I did when I knew more than I was letting on but didn't want to say anything.

"I, uh…" he mumbled.

"Goten. You inherited a lot of things from Gohan, but not his ability to lie. What do you know about this?" my tail wanted to lash impatiently, but I held it still.

"Not much, just that he's been having headaches for days. He doesn't mention it, but I can just tell 'cause he gets this _look_ on his face and kinda zones out when he talks to people."

"Anything else?"

"No…." Goten hesitated, then added, "Well, there was that one time when he was training Trunks and me…."

"What happened?"

"Nothing really; he got kicked in the face and he made a bigger deal about it than I think he should've. He stopped the session and told us to just spar with each other," the teen paused for a moment, "The next day he had a bruise; but other than that, he seemed fine."

I thought hard for a few seconds, then with a decisive slash of my tail, I stood straight and shrugged, "If something really _is_ wrong, he'll let one or both of us know,"

I don't think I was being completely honest, and I hoped my uncertainty didn't show in my voice.

"He might've caught Trunks' cold," Goten said absently, "That's why Trunks didn't go to the party, he was sick."

"That must be it," I latched on to the explanation, relief washing over me that nothing was seriously wrong with the prince, "Thanks, Goten."

I turned his television back on with my tail and he settled into the couch cushions, flashing me a smile before focusing on the TV.

I wish now that I could have bottled that sense of relief I'd felt and saved it; right then I had no idea how much I'd need that simple, pleasant emotion in the future.

-X-

"Is that all you've got, Kakarot?" Vegeta taunted, throwing a ki blast in my direction and ducking in to deliver a series of punches.

I grinned; Vegeta was back to his old self; sparring in the sky over an empty grassland with his usual vigor. It was a welcome break from the quiet, pained prince I'd sent to bed the night before.

I let him have his fun, dodging his attacks and evading the blast of ki effortlessly; waiting for him to initiate the next move before retaliating.

Vegeta bared his teeth in a feral grin and shot down faster than the human eye could see, slamming his fist into my midsection.

"So you wanna play rough?" I laughed, blocking his oncoming kick.

He smirked, "Bring it on,"

If I could have frozen time, if I could have stopped myself; things might've been different.

But I didn't.

I came at him with everything I had, planting my knee in his abdomen and using the adverse reaction to elbow him in the back, slamming him to the ground. I waited for him to right himself, I waited for him to hit the ground and make a small crater before launching back up with a counterattack and a gleeful sneer.

But he didn't.

He hit the ground head-on. From my vantage point in the air, I didn't see what happened, but if I had, I would have seen him plummet to the Earth, fear sparking in his wide teal eyes as he attempted to catch himself. I would have seen his arm buckle beneath his weight, unable to support him. I would have seen his face collide with solid rock, tearing skin and jarring teeth. I would have seen his blonde hair turn dark in a millisecond. But most importantly, I would have seen that he was not going to get back up.

I waited for him to rocket back into the fray. I waited for him to get to his feet and shout half-heartedly at me for managing to get a "cheap shot". I waited for him.

Then unease set in. I flew lower, lingering nearby before touching down, wary of some new ploy to catch me off guard. _Why is he playing dead? Why doesn't he just get up with his usual arrogant smirk and retaliate?_ It wasn't like Vegeta to be so underhanded.

I approached him slowly. If I had known; if I had only known what had happened then, I would have rushed to his side in less than a second; but I didn't have a clue.

"Vegeta?" I asked. I waited for him to look up and respond, to sneer and ask "_what do you want, Kakarot_?" I waited for him to call me a third-class idiot with his usual, teasing spark.

He didn't move. I leaned a little closer, worried now.

Then I saw the blood, and my world turned upside down.

Now I know what you're thinking; of _course_ he was bleeding, he'd just slammed headfirst into the ground without so much as shielding his face from the blow. But…. I can't even describe it. I'll try, but I'll never do it justice.

It was like someone had opened a dam and all the blood in the prince's face was draining out. There were just…. _gouts_ of scarlet, _torrents, _streamingout of his mouth and nose. It was staining his paling bronze skin, staining the rocks below. No, staining is too blunt a word. It was _painting_ the ground, _pouring _across his princely face.

And the worst part was that all I did, all I _could_ do for a count of seven and a half seconds, was stare in shock.

"Oh…oh _gods,_ Vegeta!" I bolted to his side, closing the distance between us at a sprint and falling to my knees at his side. It looked worse close up. And all I could think was three words that taunted my blank mind. _I did this. _I_ did this._

I took him into my lap desperately and tore my shirt off, pressing the cloth to his face to try and stem the flow. The fabric was soaked in seconds; I didn't know what else to do. _Lookout. Dende. Korin. Senzu. _I tried to focus on Dende's energy, pressing two fingers to my forehead and searching; but my mind was an empty void. I couldn't think, I couldn't concentrate.

_Call for help._ I didn't have the voice to shout. No one would hear me anyway, this was literally the middle of scenic nowhere.

I flared my ki, raising my power as high as it could go. I passed Super Saiyan quickly, my energy soaring past level two and on to three. Waves of golden hair cascaded down my back and I stood, laying Vegeta down gently and pushing my ki higher. I teetered on the edge of my breaking point, my energy as high as it could possibly go, clenching my teeth and straining recklessly higher. Anyone with the ability to sense energy would hopefully get the message. _Help. Someone. Anyone._

I couldn't hold that level of energy long, and I collapsed, my hair and vision fading to black as I passed out beside my bleeding, unconscious lover.

TBC

_**Side-note: The symptoms for Vegeta's sickness were based on the cancer leukemia; cancer of the blood. Naturally I put my own spin on it to make it more Saiyan. This whole sequel was actually inspired by the book Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick._


	4. Part 4

**Love Has No Cure**

Part 4 – Help

I ached everywhere. I felt drained, every muscle shrieking with protest as I tried to move. The only thing I can compare it to in hindsight is when I had that ki-cutting manacle on and I felt devoid of energy.

At first, I wallowed in the feeling of detachment, in the dull pain singing through my muscles. Then one word slapped me in the face and I sat bolt upright, eyes snapping open.

_Vegeta._

I was in a hospital, sprawled in one of those waiting room chairs that you _know_ are supposed to be cushioned but just feel so damn rock hard against your back. _How did I get here?_

The room was empty, and it was night judging from the cobalt sky outside the window. I wasn't wearing a shirt. _Oh yeah, I used it to stop the…. the blood…._

I got to my feet in a rush, reeling as my head began to spin, but managing to stand without swaying. I started towards the nearest door; my only thought was finding Vegeta in this place, these humans would have no idea how to help a Saiyan. _Neither did you,_ my mind taunted. My tail lashed angrily at my uselessness.

I was stopped halfway down a slick white hallway by an auburn-haired, female nurse who gave me a strange look and barred my path. I could have continued on without so much as breaking stride, _but maybe she can help_. I halted and waited for her to speak first.

Her bright green eyes wandered to my tail, which was whipping back and forth in agitation.

"You're the tailed guy who showed up with that other guy…" she said slowly. It wasn't a question.

I could only assume she was talking about Vegeta.

"Yeah, do you know where he is?" I asked briskly, impatiently, I wanted to blast off in search of my lover's ki; but he probably wouldn't have a whole lot of ki to follow anyway.

"I can take you to him if you want," she offered.

I think my relief showed; actually I'm positive it did, I was just about ready to kneel before this nurse and kiss her hand.

"Thank you," I said shakily.

X

If I live a thousand years in this life, I will never forget my initial inability to speak when I saw Vegeta for the first time that night. He was lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV line with thin tubes under his nose to aid his breathing. He looked so fragile, smaller than ever; a broken creature, like a bird with a broken wing. At least he'd stopped bleeding; but his whole face was bruised and cut, especially around his mouth and cheeks. He looked like he'd been slugged in the face with a lead mallet. No, that's a bad example. He… I think I choked when I realized what a fitting analogy this was: he looked like a human that had been forced to spar with a Saiyan.

_I did this._ Those three little words coming back to haunt me.

I sank to my knees for the record second or third time in one day. Maybe I should have cried, maybe I should have clasped his hand in mine, maybe I should have found a chair instead of kneeling on the floor. But in that moment, all I could register was a series of song lyrics flooding my brain.

_I destroyed you_

_I didn't mean to_

_I didn't want to_

_What happened to you?_

_When my back was turned_

_You became so frail_

_So fragile and small_

_What happened to you?_

_I destroyed you_

_I didn't have to_

_I didn't want to_

_What did I do to you?_

_When I looked away_

_You became helpless_

_So broken and torn_

_What did I do to you?_

I turned to look at the red-haired nurse.

"What's wrong with him?"

I waited for her to name some complex disease, something I wouldn't understand. The one thing I didn't expect to hear was what came out of her mouth.

"I don't know."

I was about to yell at her. I was about to shout that she was a doctor, she was supposed to know everything; but I think I just then registered that I was in fact _in _a hospital. I hated hospitals. I hated doctors. But I was willing to face my number one fear to help Vegeta. Apparently I had a new number one fear: I was more afraid if losing Vegeta than I was of needles. I stood shakily and backed into a chair before sinking into it.

"You don't know?"

"No, it's the strangest thing. The symptoms are a lot like the ones for leukemia, but…"

"Loo-what ee-ah?" I stammered.

"Cancer of the blood," the nurse explained.

I froze. That word. _Cancer, that's what ChiCi had before she died. It was a different kind, but…_

"Oh, gods," I breathed. _I already lost ChiChi this way, Vegeta, I can't lose you too!_

"Excuse me, sir?" the nurse broke into my wall of shock. I think maybe _one_ person had called me "sir" in my whole life.

"G-Goku, it's Goku," I said shakily.

"I'm Jiana. Okay, Goku, can I ask you something?"

I nodded.

"Do you know how old he is? It would be easier to determine what caused the virus if we knew his age,"

"Sorry, I have no idea. I only know he's about eight years older than me," I knew this because Vegeta mentioned that he'd been about eight when Planet Vegeta had been destroyed, and I'd been less than a year old when that happened.

"And how old are you?" Jiana asked.

It was a simple question. But I realized with a shock that I didn't have a clue.

"I-I don't know… How old do I look?"

Jiana squinted for a moment, "Thirty, forty-some?"

I shook my head. It was much more than that, it had to be.

I was silent for a moment.

"Will he….?" I began. I almost didn't want to ask, for fear of hearing the worst, "Will he wake up?"

"I can't say when, but I think he'll regain consciousness once his vitalities are stable."

I assumed that was a good thing.

"He'll get better," I whispered, more to myself than anyone, "He has to,"

Jiana was watching my tail, which was ticking back and forth as I drifted in and out of thought.

"How come you have a tail?" she asked eventually.

I was lost in thought and answered instinctively, and honestly.

"I'm a Saiyan, he is too," I nodded at Vegeta.

"You're a what?"

Then what I said caught up to me and I blinked. _Idiot, just say whatever decides to come out of your mouth, why don't you?_

"Long story," I muttered, hiding my embarrassment behind a smile. The motion of a smile, more like. It felt more like a grimace.

It was Jiana's turn to fall silent for a moment, taking a seat next to me. The action was very un-doctor-like, and I felt more comfortable around her.

"Do you know him well?" she asked after a while.

I hesitated. I'd known Vegeta a long time. It seemed like I'd known him forever; but there was also a lot I didn't know about him. I'd crossed some of those barriers after we got together – I'd learned that he hated snow, I'd learned what his favorite color was, what it took to get him to smile, that he was; contrary to Bulma's belief, a _very_ good kisser. But what would Jiana want to hear? What I knew about the prince, or what I didn't?

"Yes," I said eventually, returning my attention to the prince's fragile form. The extremity of the situation hit my full-force again. Vegeta might die. Was this how Vegeta had felt when he watched Gohan torture me to the edge of death? That he might lose his lover forever? I closed my eyes and forced myself to breathe steadily. _Don't cry; it won't do you any good here._

"Why are you still here?" I asked Jiana flatly, "Don't you have doctor things to do?"

She looked like she could've laughed, but she just smiled tightly.

"There's nothing I can do for him right now and I don't have any other patients to see to tonight. Right now, where I'm most needed is helping you,"

"Why?"

"Because you obviously care for this man a lot,"

"Yeah, but _why?_"

"Because it's my job, and because you'd probably get depressed if you were left alone with him,"

I forced a shaky laugh.

"I'd probably be depressed either way. Thanks, Jiana."

She smiled again, this time gently.

"No problem, Goku,"

TBC


	5. Part 5

**Love Has No Cure**

Part 5 – Awake

The sun was starting to rise outside the window and I blinked, opening my eyes and sitting up straight. I must have fallen asleep. Jiana was gone, and I was alone with Vegeta. I glanced over at his unconscious form, his chest rising a falling slowly as he breathed with the aid of the tubes beneath his nose.

He looked much more peaceful than he had last night. The furrow between his eyebrows had relaxed and some of the color had returned to his face. Not a lot, but enough that he didn't look like a corpse. He was also breathing easier, his lips slightly parted as he inhaled.

As I watched him, the heartache from yesterday returned. _I can't lose you, I love you so much._

Vegeta's eye twitched a little; he mumbled something in his sleep, almost a whimper, and his fingers gripped the stainless white sheet.

"Vegeta," I breathed.

I remembered almost five years ago when I'd been in almost the exact same situation; except then it was ChiChi's body lying broken in a bed. At least she'd spoken to me; given me hope for the future. Without Vegeta, what hope was there?

My gaze wandered back to his face, he seemed to flinch in response to whatever dream flickered behind his eyelids. _Maybe… maybe I can kiss him one last time…._ I leaned forward instinctively, contemplating. _Selfish idiot! You don't deserve it after what you did!_

After all, all of this _was_ my fault, wasn't it? I'd been the one to attack him and make him bleed like that. _We were just sparring…. He told me to fight back…_

I was just about to lean back again when the prince's eyes opened slowly. I nearly jumped out of my seat. His midnight pupils wandered, disoriented, before landing on me; he swallowed, wincing in apparent pain.

"K-Kakarot?" his voice was dry and quiet.

"Vegeta, you're awake!" I sat bolt upright, my tail uncoiling from around the chair leg to swish through the air.

Vegeta grimaced, trying to sit up and failing. His eyes continued to wander around the room.

"W-where the hell – _ah!_ - am I?" he demanded, his harsh tone turned to a whimper midsentence as in the act of sitting up, he strained the needle embedded in his wrist.

"Relax, you're in a hospital because…. well…."

The prince let his head fall back against the pillow and he winced. Hospital pillows are _not_ very soft, by the way. They're like semi-soft bricks or something.

"This is humiliating," he grumbled, his usual scowl planted on his face.

I almost laughed, he just sounded so much like his old self.

"What h-happened to me?" he asked after a while.

"You got hurt in a spar, y-you were bleeding a lot and…." I stopped, running my own tail through my fingers.

"How did I get here? Did you -?"

"No, it wasn't me. I think Piccolo might've flown you – us – here; I think I sensed his energy somewhere, or his scent, or something…." I trailed off, thinking.

"Kakarot," Vegeta interrupted.

"Hmm?" I blinked and looked at him.

"I don't want to stay in this… _facility._ These idiot humans don't know shit about healing."

"Do you… do you want me to -?" I was confused as to what he was asking of me.

"Just help me get this needle out of my wrist and we can leave," he muttered.

"But you're –"

He smirked a little, "I thought of all people _you_ wouldn't underestimate Saiyan healing abilities."

I was about to argue, to tell him what Jiana had told me, but I couldn't say it. If he felt better, who was I to question him?

"Okay," I stood and walked to the bed. The needle itself gave me pause, so I settled for gently pulling off the medical tape and leaving the rest to the prince. The moment the IV line was removed, he struggled to his feet, a bit unsteady, and shot me a look that said quite plainly: '_and you thought I wouldn't be able to do it,'_

"Let's go," he growled, and without further explanation, he blasted into the small amount of space between the floor and the ceiling before rocketing out the window.

I blinked. _Geez, I honestly don't know about that guy. He was down for the count, almost dead, yesterday and now he can just shake it off and fly out the window like it was nothing._

Impressed, I flew after him; making the mistake of letting down my guard without realizing it.

TBC


	6. Part 6

**Love Has No Cure**

Part 6 – If It Makes You Happy

Vegeta made it halfway home before he started showing signs of fatigue. Some of the color that had returned to his face drained a bit, and his breathing became more labored. Discreetly, I fed him some of my ki to keep him steady, but I didn't think he'd make it all the way across West City in one piece.

"Why don't we stop at Capsule Corp? I'm sure Bulma's been worried, and you haven't seen Trunks in a while," Vegeta shot me a glance that showed he understood my true motives perfectly. _It's not as far, and Bulma knows more about healing Saiyans than I do._ I don't know whether I offended him by suggesting he was too weak to continue, but if I did, he didn't say anything about it.

"Whatever you say, Kakarot," he muttered, adjusting the course of our flight and streaking ahead, as if to prove he still could.

"What happened?" Bulma shrieked the minute we entered her dwelling, "Gohan stopped by and said both of your ki was going absolutely ballistic and Goten said he thought something was wrong with you, Vegeta! Then Piccolo comes by – and he _never_ comes by! – and says you're in the _hospital!_ That and the fact that you both disappeared for two days! What is going on?"

"Bulma, please," I said quietly, putting my hands on Vegeta's shoulders, meaning to comfort, not control, "You're hurting my ears; and I'm not the one with the chronic headaches here."

"Oh, sorry," Bulma blushed and sat down in an armchair, gesturing for us to take a seat.

"Vegeta, why don't you get a glass of water? You're a little pale," I suggested evasively, wanting to talk to Bulma alone.

The prince's eyes narrowed, suspecting treachery, but he didn't argue. He did, however, take his own sweet time walking to the kitchen.

"What's _really_ going on?" Bulma asked in a hushed voice, trying to keep the question below the radar of Vegeta's sensitive hearing.

"Vegeta was in the hospital because he's really sick," I murmured, "The doctors don't know what to make of it; I think it's some kind of Saiyan thing, but they said it was a reminiscent of leukemia."

Yeah, two big words in one sentence. Writing lyrics for songs really improved my vocabulary.

"You mean _cancer?_" Bulma's hand shot to cover her mouth in shock, struggling to keep her voice a whisper.

I nodded gravely, "I didn't want to tell him until his apparent mood and behavior swings steady out a bit. I don't know when to let him stand on his own and when to be hovering around with a stretcher anymore."

"But…. Goku, that's _really_ serious. He'll probably die," she said hesitantly.

I snarled, "You think I don't _know_ that? I almost killed him myself just by being a little rough during a spar!" I had to fight to keep my voice low and not shout, it came out like a hiss.

"Oh my g- what happened?" Bulma paled, sitting forward.

"He… he told me to fight back, to 'bring it on', so I used an attack that wouldn't have even fazed him before and he…." I swallowed hard, "He fell, and he hit t-the ground really hard. There was s-_so _much blood…."

Struggling to keep from sobbing, refusing to show weakness, I looked at her as steadily as I could; waiting for her to accuse me.

"And you thought -? Oh, Goku, it wasn't your fault," she said quietly, soothingly, "You didn't cause this, if it _is_ like leukemia, he would've already been…." She trailed off, looking stricken.

"Is it contagious?" I felt stupid for asking, but both Piccolo and I had both been in very close contact with the prince; I had to be sure.

"If it's anything like the doctors said, no. It might be like you mentioned; a 'Saiyan thing', but that would mean –"

"It's probably hereditary," I finished for her, realization of what she was suggesting sinking in. That meant Trunks might have it, or get it, or however that worked.

"We have to find a cure," she murmured, as if to herself.

_What if there isn't one? It doesn't seem likely, there's no cure for cancer, and this is more alien than that._

I almost said some of what I was thinking out loud, but at that moment, Vegeta decided to come strolling back into the living room, glaring at us for a moment, "Keeping secrets?" he growled.

"Um…" I began.

He waved me off, "Whatever it is, I don't want to know,"

I shot Bulma a glance, raising an eyebrow. _Should we tell him anyway?_

Her own eyebrows furrowed thoughtfully; then she shook her head a little. I could read her body language perfectly, '_we can't do anything about it yet either way, best not to worry him until there's a need,'_

A few days passed and we stayed at Capsule Corp because the prince's condition worsened overnight. He said nothing, but it took an effort for him to even stand. I hoped that, like the headaches, it was only temporary. Gohan and Goten visited, and Trunks hovered almost constantly until, mercifully, Monday came along and he left his father be to go to school.

However, with everyone gone for the day, even Bulma, the day itself was very boring. Vegeta's body might have been weakened - even he could admit it now, though he didn't know why – but his mind was still the sharp one of a Saiyan prince. He wanted to fight and strategize and train, but he couldn't vent out his mental energy and stay in bed like Bulma ordered at the same time.

The fact that he'd even done as the woman directed said a lot about his condition. He even put up with her never-ending concerned comments and fretting, though he had no idea from where her anxiety stemmed yet.

I was even worse off, as far as boredom goes. I had self-appointed myself as Vegeta's guardian while he wasn't well, but that meant I was stuck in the house too; and unlike the prince, I had boundless energy that needed release. Physically I _could_ train and exercise and blow things up, but I restrained myself, forcing myself to sit still though every muscle demanded to fidget. A question arose eventually. What could I do with myself while Vegeta was asleep or wanted to be alone? Naturally, the first thing that came to mind was play guitar, but the noise would wake him up; besides, even if I moved to another room, Ongaku was all the way across West City, at home. What if Vegeta needed me while I was gone?

So I tried other things. I tried to read, but all of Bulma's books were long and scientific, and forcing myself to absorb the tiny print and enormous words was frustrating and twice as boring as sitting doing nothing. I wrote song lyrics, but that just made me want to play the songs I wrote, and I'd end up humming under my breath, wishing for a means to let the music out.

Gohan arrived, slipping quietly through the door as if he knew the prince was asleep. I waved from where I was sitting on the couch, scribbling lyrics despite my frustration, my tail curling and lashing; betraying my mood.

"Hey Dad," Gohan whispered, "Whatcha writing?"

I tapped my dull pencil against the paper, thinking of a word to use and replying distractedly, "Some new lyrics for a song Bulma was playing on the radio the other day,"

"What song?" he genuinely seemed interested. I reminded myself that the only reason I even _had_ a guitar was because of Gohan and Bulma. I resolved to thank them someday, somehow.

"I think it was something like '_Why the hell are you so sad?' _at least, that's the part I remember most clearly. The melody is what stuck in my head."

Gohan laughed and I looked up, seeing the amusement in his eyes, "I know that song. It's _'If It Makes You Happy'_ by Sheryl Crow."

"Oh, thanks." I said, feeling foolish.

"So why are you writing new stuff for a song that already exists?"

"I don't know," I admitted, "The original lyrics were kind of weird; hard to understand, and the tune wouldn't leave me alone, so I tried to put my own spin on it 'cause I was bored."

"And you were bored because you're stuck watching His Majesty?" Gohan sat down, reading over my shoulder silently.

"Yeah, but if he needs me, I'll be there. I'm not backing out just because it gets a little boring,"

Gohan nodded in understanding, squinting at my scrawled handwriting. I reveled in his company; four years ago, he'd all but hated my guts; now he was just as loyal and loving a son as he'd been before this whole fiasco started with ChiChi's death.

"Your word choice is improving, Dad," Gohan said, "It's more fluid. I'd love to see what you can do with the actual guitar now, have you been practicing?"

"Not recently, no. I don't want to wake Vegeta up."

"Have you considered using Bulma's lab? The walls are soundproofed."

"Yeah, but _Ongaku_'s all the way at home. I can't leave Vegeta that long, what if he needs something? What if he -?" I cut myself off. Gohan knew about Vegeta's condition, he was one of the few who did - and he only knew because he said he wouldn't leave me alone until I told him what was wrong – but that didn't mean I had to go into detail and worry him. Orthopediactric –is that even a word? - scholar or no, he didn't need to know the full extent of what had happened to put the prince in the hospital.

"You know, _I_ could get it for you," Gohan offered. I blinked, I hadn't even considered that.

"What's the catch?" I asked, wary of my eldest son's devilish grin.

"Play this for me?" he gestured to the mess of scribbled words that could pass for a lyric sheet.

"But –" I stammered, "I don't even own the song,"

"No problem, people do covers of songs all the time,"

"Yeah but –"

"Deal?"

I started to protest, feeling very like I had when Vegeta was making me play for an audience at a restaurant. Then I reasoned that I really had no reason to refuse.

"Deal," I muttered. I could almost feel the metal strings against my fingers right then.

TBC


	7. Part 7

**Love Has No Cure**

Part 7 – Bruising

I was finishing writing lyrics down, tapping the tip of my tail against the side of my leg, when Vegeta woke up and, stretching, walked into the room, looking refreshed and more alert.

"You look better," I commented, erasing a hole through the paper from rubbing out the same word over and over.

"Nh…Feel better," the prince muttered, sitting next to me and letting his tail brush an errant bang away from my face. I shot him a quick glance and a smile before going back to my writing.

"What's that? A novel?" he smirked, leaning back and stacking his hands under his head and fixing his gaze on the ceiling.

It did me good to see him relaxed and cheerful after the ordeal we'd gone through a few days ago.

"No, I'm writing a song… or a cover of a song,"

He blinked and glanced at me, looking interested. I never understood why he seemed to like my music; he'd never shown any interest in any form of art – unless you could call battles art – until relatively recently, but whenever I mentioned my guitar or songwriting, he got this look on his face, as if he was asking without words '_…Show me?_'

"Gohan'll explain more when he gets back," I said distractedly, "He went to go get _Ongaku_ from our place in exchange for me playing this for him."

The prince nodded slowly, looking over my shoulder at the smudged, scribbled, scrawled mess that I'd been slaving over for almost two hours.

"I know that song," he mumbled, "The woman played it a while ago…"

I stared. I had no idea he was so observant when it came to music, or the activities of his ex-mate.

"Don't give me that look," he laughed, "I've been stuck indoors for almost four days, I had to spy on something."

I returned his smile and finished the last line with flourish.

"Only the refrain is the same," he went on, eyebrows furrowing, "The rest is all different. The tune doesn't even look the same."

"Yeah, I really only liked the chorus," I muttered, still awed by this show of artistic know-how from the prince, "The rest of it was a little strange."

Vegeta was silent for a moment.

"It's not really your style," he said eventually, "I don't know how it'd sound on _Ongaku_; I think an acoustic guitar would be more up for the job."

I couldn't help myself. I turned and stared openly, mouth ajar in shock. Not only had he _remembered_ the name of my guitar – and _pronounced_ it right with confidence – but he knew the difference between an electric and acoustic guitar and was suggesting which was better to play a song that by all rights he shouldn't even _know._ It was too much; I almost braced myself for the world to explode, but instead just marveled at how out of character the prince was being.

"Did you hit your head harder than I thought you did when we were sparring the other day?" I really didn't want to bring up that traumatic experience, but I had to wonder if the prince was losing his sanity.

"No," Vegeta shrugged, "I've just learned to appreciate the finer things in life recently. _You're_ into music and that lute instrument you call a guitar; so why shouldn't I be too?"

"B-because you're…. you're _Vegeta_…. It's just weird," I stammered, feeling obscenely stupid and childish at the moment.

Vegeta surprised me then. He threw back his head and laughed heartily. I couldn't help but smile as the sound of his clear, pure laughter washed over me; slightly higher and richer than his more raspy, baritone voice. I had a sudden, strange desire to find out what his singing sounded like. I had a feeling it would be the same as his laugh, and the idea was both fascinating and oddly erotic. I shook of the thought, it was ridiculous.

At that moment, Gohan swung the door open, his gaze sweeping over both of us; lingering on Vegeta's cheerful face and my own shocked expression before he broke into a smile and proffered my guitar.

"Thanks," I said quickly, almost irritably, taking the instrument in question and standing up. Vegeta followed my lead, getting to his feet and standing behind me, running a hand over my shoulder soothingly as if to ease the tension he knew would be there.

I turned and looked at him; he was so beautiful with his eyes gleaming and his face loosened in a genuine smile. Even the fading bruises and cuts from his fall a few days ago didn't take away from his gorgeous face, and before I could stop myself I kissed him hard.

The prince responded eagerly at first, ignoring Gohan and allowing me full control for a moment. I forgot to restrain myself and devoured his mouth with crippling intensity. After a few seconds he flinched with a short, high sound very like a yip and broke away, gingerly touching his fingers to his mouth and jaw as if looking for injury. I opened my eyes and realization crashed over me. I'd hurt him again. The bruises from the spar were completely outstripped by newer, darker bruises staining his upper lip and chin.

Anxiety clouded his gaze for a moment, but he shook it off. I wondered how much he'd already guessed about his condition. He'd had to have guessed _something_ was up. I'd been worried before, yes, but now I couldn't even_ kiss_ my lover without losing control and hurting him.

Gohan shuffled his feet awkwardly, blushing, "I'm gonna pretend I didn't see that," he looked at Vegeta, blinked, and his eyes widened a bit, "Vegeta your - ! Dad, you -!" he cut himself off, glaring at me accusingly.

Vegeta dragged his tongue across his lower lip experimentally, wincing, "I'm fine," he muttered breathlessly, "You just got a little overzealous there, Kakarot."

"It won't happen again," I promised, hoping I put enough conviction into the words to make them true. I was a Saiyan; how could I guarantee I wouldn't hurt him again? I didn't want Vegeta to be afraid of me, but maybe he'd have to be to protect himself.

"I said I'm fine," he repeated, "You said you'd play your song, don't procrastinate on my account."

Gohan shot me a look, but for once, I couldn't read it.

"Okay," I nodded, "I said I'd play for Gohan, but if you want to listen too, I can't really stop you," _Not true in the slightest. In his current state I _could_ stop him without having to do more than lift a finger._ Shaking off the morbid, taunting thoughts, I slung _Ongaku_ over my shoulder and tuned it quickly; Saiyan reflex making my fingers nimble as I turned the knobs and strummed once or twice to check the sound.

Gohan sat down on the couch and Vegeta joined him, still fingering his new bruises distractedly.

I figured the best thing to do would be to ignore my audience; it had worked before. I closed my eyes to shut them out and started a choppy, two-part echo rhythm – a new trick I'd taught myself that involved alternating between strumming with my fingers and my tail on the same strings; it actually sounds a lot cooler than you'd think – letting my tail keep the beat on the low notes and my fingers tease out the melody. Vegeta was right, it was really different from the original song, but it still held that light, careless, acoustic feeling. After about four measures I started in with some of my new lyrics.

"_I was gone, I ran away from you,_

_I knew that it was selfish, but to you it was_

_So much more._

_I wasn't gone long, and when I returned_

_You told me that you missed me, told me that you loved me, _

_Made me promise not to leave anymore_

_Well okay, I made this up_

_I promised you I'd never give up_

_If it makes you happy, it can't be that bad_

_If it makes you happy_

_Then why the hell are you so sad?"_

When the song was over, I looked up, straightening the kinks in my tail and shaking the burn from my fingers.

Gohan beamed and clapped cheesily, totally ruining the moment – and he knew it – Vegeta just remained silent, but the approval in his eyes said more than he could have voiced.

My son stood up and clapped a hand on my shoulder in passing, "Nice one, Dad," then he left for his night shift at work without another word save a goodbye to both of us.

Vegeta slouched against the cushions, threading his auburn tail through his fingers absently.

I sat down next to him, leaning _Ongaku_ against the side of the couch and settling back, watching him quietly.

After a while I couldn't take it anymore and blurted, "I'm sorry,"

He blinked, "For what?"

"For hurting your face…. again…."

He tilted his head to one side, releasing his tail and letting it curl through the air, "Don't worry about it, they'll go away," he gestured to the dark marks marring his lips, chin and jaw.

"I know, but I…" I sighed, I'd have to tell him sooner or later, might as well do it now, "Vegeta, there's something I need to tell you,"

He straightened a little, curiosity and wariness warring it out on his face.

"When we were sparring and you fell, you hit the ground and instantly passed out," I began in a rush, feeling guilty and wanting to explain, to apologize, "You lost a lot of blood, but it wasn't because of cuts or gashes or even damage to your lungs. It all came p-pouring out your mouth and nose, and… it just wouldn't stop…. I freaked out and called for help with my ki. Later I learned that…. that you lost so much blood because for some reason your white blood cell count is drastically low now," I was quoting Bulma's definition of leukemia here, "So you don't have enough platelets in your bloodstream to clot automatically. That's also why you bruise so easily."

Vegeta's expression didn't change, I wondered if he even understood what I was implying and decided to just say it outright.

"Vegeta, look at me, you have cancer," I cursed myself mentally for my bluntness and added, "Or something like it, maybe something worse."

He looked at me for a good few seconds and I waited for him to deny it, to call me crazy, but he didn't. Eventually he just said two quiet words that threw me for a loop:

"I know."

TBC


	8. Part 8

**Love Has No Cure**

Part 8 – That's Love

"_Vegeta, look at me, you have cancer," I cursed myself mentally for my bluntness and added, "Or something like it, maybe something worse." _

_He looked at me for a good few seconds and I waited for him to deny it, to call me crazy, but he didn't. Eventually he just said two quiet words that threw me for a loop:_

"_I know."_

I stared at him, completely at a loss for words. _How long has he known? And he still let me -?_

"What do you mean you _know_?" I demanded, tail lashing.

"I've known for a long time," the prince murmured dejectedly.

"Were you listening in when Bulma and I talked?" I growled; _that must be it, there's no way he could have…_

"No," he said boldly, "I don't eavesdrop, Kakarot. I wouldn't stoop that low,"

"I know," I sighed, despite my thoughts; somehow I knew he hadn't been listening.

"I've actually known for years,"

"But -!" I blurted, "All the times we sparred! And the battles you fought! Nothing like that ever happened before!"

"No, it didn't," Vegeta's gaze was steady, but I saw unease lingering in his eyes, he got to his feet and looked down at me, "Though it very well could have,"

I thought about that. Vegeta had been fighting for decades, probably for half a century or more; and he _knew_ all that time that he could have lost all the blood in his body with just a misplaced punch? That didn't make sense. Why was he so eager for battle then? I felt like I was missing something here.

"Saiyan cancer is very different from human cancer, Kakarot," Vegeta said slowly, biting off each word as if they were painful to say, "For humans, they either have it or they don't. It's more complicated for Saiyans."

"You mean you can _catch_ cancer?" Suddenly kissing Vegeta earlier seemed like a huge mistake.

"No. That's not what I mean. It's not contagious, thank the gods, or it would have spread like wildfire. Saiyans are very, ah… _intimate_ people as I presume you've noticed," he tried to smirk but it looked like a grimace, "The disease is mostly hereditary, passed from certain generations down. That's how I knew all this time it could happen to me. It skips a generation in most bloodlines. My grandfather had it, I never knew him; but my father told me how he died."

I just listened, unable to trust myself to speak yet. Usually, when Vegeta spoke of his past; of his – our – race, it was with pride and dignity. Now he just sounded tired.

"It wasn't a common disease. I don't remember the name we gave it; but it had a strange way of lying dormant in the body for years, then suddenly appearing full-force without warning. It was always a hundred percent fatal if not treated properly…. And even then…." He trailed off, pacing, tail swinging like a missile.

"I lived my life dreading it, knowing I was a likely candidate to be struck by the sickness. After Buu; after my body had endured that much exertion and abuse, I became sure it was negative in my DNA. I relaxed for the first time in decades."

"That's why you mellowed out so much after Buu was defeated," I nodded, understanding. Vegeta had spent almost his whole life knowing he might die, that he couldn't stop it if he did; and just when he was sure he was free of the risk it hit him head-on like a freight train.

"Yes," he stopped pacing, his tail slashing through the air agitatedly, "I suppose I let my guard down too soon."

"What about Trunks?" What I meant by that question remained unsaid yet understood by both of us.

"He's not a full-blooded Saiyan, he might not even have the gene," Vegeta looked like he was trying to convince himself as much as me, "Then again being half-Saiyan might count as skipping a generation in a DNA sense; who knows?" he clenched his fists, shaking, "Who honestly knows?"

"Why….why didn't you stop me? When I kissed you today? You could've said something."

"I hoped I was getting worked up over nothing, and I didn't want you to worry,"

"I was worried already, I still am," I said steadily.

Vegeta sighed, his shoulder slumping a bit, "I didn't even think you knew. Who else knows about this?"

"Just Bulma and Gohan, though I suspect Goten and Trunks are figuring it out." I stood up and walked over to him.

"Vegeta?" I asked slowly, carefully, tasting the word as I may only have a limited amount of times to say it to him.

He swept his ginger tail through the air and curled it around my wrist, squeezing gently.

"Does this mean we can't be…. together anymore?" I didn't know how to phrase the question so it didn't sound selfish.

"Are you kidding, Kakarot? I'm going to need you more now than ever before," his voice was flat, emotionless.

"You know what I mean," I ran my fingers through the undulating, fuzzy appendage coiling around my hand.

He turned and looked at me with bright jet eyes; in contrast to his voice, they were deeper than anything.

"I don't know how long I have left to live," he said quietly, "I don't think we'll be able to find a cure before this disease takes me; so right now I think it's better to live each day like my last. Find whatever meaning you were looking for in that,"

I really couldn't argue with that.

"Do what you want with me, Kakarot," he went on in monotone, "My only purpose in life now is to bring whatever happiness I can to those I love, at whatever expense…"

I grit my teeth, "It would give me no pleasure whatsoever to hurt you again," I growled, letting my fingernails graze the prince's tail lightly, which I knew would cause him to shiver. It did, "You know that,"

The door swung open and Trunks stepped in. His blue eyes snapped to us instantly; Vegeta's tail tangled in my fingers, the prince's defeated expression and my snarl. I realized he'd draw the wrong conclusion, and of course, he did.

"What are you doing to my dad?" he demanded, storming up to me and shoving me away from Vegeta, "What's going on?"

"Trunks, it's not what you –" I began hurriedly.

"Leave Kakarot alone, son," Vegeta spoke so quietly that I almost didn't hear, but Trunks stopped instantly as if he'd hit a brick wall.

He turned to his father and nodded, apology written on his face.

"Why are you home from school so late?" Vegeta asked. Trunks's eyes widened; his father never asked him about school, never showed any concern. Now he genuinely looked worried. It must have been confusing for the demi, I reasoned. Vegeta was bi-polar by nature, but his recent mood swings had made him downright unpredictable.

"I was at Goten's," the teen shot me a glance as if to confirm he'd been at my house, "And Gohan stopped by to pick up something; but I didn't go anywhere else," he seemed unnerved by his father's piercing gaze. Not angry - I smirked, remembering describing the prince's eyes this way before - just calculating.

"Well… tell someone next time," Vegeta said awkwardly, as if he wasn't quite sure how to be a parent in this situation, "You had me worried." I looked closely at Vegeta, he looked exhausted, and the bruises on his face were showing up more clearly against his paling skin.

"Okay Dad," Trunks said carefully, narrowing his eyes a little.

Vegeta stiffened suddenly; color flooding his cheeks, his eyes unfocused, his breathing rough. The huge drop in his ki was the only warning I got before his eyes fluttered closed and he collapsed.

"Vegeta!"

"Dad!" Trunks and I bolted to his side, panic bolstering our ki so that it swirled everywhere.

I kneeled next to the prince, pressing two fingers to the side of his neck, feeling for a pulse. It was present, but rather than being faint like I thought it would be, it was rapid and uneven.

"…Blood must have rushed to his head faster than he could cope," I muttered. Trunks kneeled across from me; eyes wide, face pale.

"What do we do?" he demanded.

"Nothing we _can_ do except get him elevated and bring his heart rate down," I pulled Vegeta into a sitting position, feeling his forehead. It was raging hot, his hair damp and matted with sweat. How had I not noticed this before?

"Trunks; get some rags and cold water," I ordered, the teen nodded quickly and ran.

I held my hand suspended over Vegeta's mouth and nose; a faint, warm whisper of air heated my palm and I relaxed some; at least he was breathing.

Trunks rushed to my side and deposited an armful of washcloths and a container of water. I nodded my thanks and soaked one of the rags, gesturing for him to do the same. Both of us pressed the cold cloths to the prince's forehead, letting the moisture stream down the sides of his face and neck to cool him down.

"Nothing's happening," Trunks fretted.

"Give it time," I said calmly. I didn't know where this confidence was coming from, but I was glad for it.

"How come _you_ know what to do about this?" the demi asked bluntly.

I fixed him with something between a frown and a glare, "I'm actually smarter than I look," I said coldly.

The lavender-haired teen shrank back under the intensity of my gaze and reached over to wet his washcloth again.

After a few minutes I removed the cloth and felt the prince's forehead again.

"That's enough; we don't want to give him a chill," I said, setting the rags aside.

"Now what?"

"Make him comfortable and wait for him to snap out of it on his own," I murmured, "That's all we can do."

Trunks glanced at his father miserably before getting to his feet. I hooked one arm around the prince's shoulders and the other behind his knees and lifted him gently. He looked fragile, like when he'd been in the hospital. I dropped a chaste kiss on his forehead –which was now of relatively normal temperature – and carried him to his bedroom. Trunks followed, taking two steps for every one of mine because of his slighter size. His blue eyes found my black ones eventually.

"You really love him, don't you?" he asked quietly, something like awe on his face.

"With all my heart," I replied, "I wouldn't fake something like that; I _couldn't._"

"How do you know? That you love him, I mean," he went on as he helped me lower the prince into bed.

I paused thoughtfully, considering the question.

"Every time I look at him my heart skips," I said after a moment, "I know him better than I know anyone, maybe even myself, and yet he's an enigma to me. I'd do anything for him,"

"_Anything_?"

"Anything. If he asked me to fry the Earth, I'd do it. I'd think he was insane and probably try to convince him otherwise; but if he insisted; I'd ask him if he wanted it medium or well done." I realized with a jolt that I meant every word, so I went on, "I'd die for him. I _have _died for him. And I'd rather die than be without him."

Trunks had stopped adjusting the sheet he was tucking around his father and was staring at me in amazement as I spoke.

"_That's_ love?" he breathed.

"As far as I know. What else could it be?"

"Wow," he murmured, "No wonder my dad talks about you nonstop, if you really feel like _that,_ it's not a mystery why he'd make that face at you all the time."

"What face?"

"I'm not sure how to explain it; he just gets this _intense_ look in his eyes and every time you walk through the door, or if you're mentioned in a conversation, he looks like the sun's come out after a storm."

I blushed and hid it with a grin, "Really?"

"Yeah, so I'm pretty sure he loves you back." Trunks said slowly.

"Me too," I agreed, looking at the unconscious prince wistfully.

"It makes it really sad then, that he's gonna die," Trunks murmured.

"Yeah," I began; then I realized what he'd said and whipped around, "Wait, you _know_?"

The teen nodded soberly, "Will you be okay when he does?" I noticed he said '_when'_, not _'if'_.

_I don't think I'll _ever_ understand kids,_ I thought, _He knows his father's going to die and he's worried about _me?

"Honestly, I don't know," I sighed, "I got a little taste of what my life would be like without him after I put him in the hospital. If that's any indication, I don't think I'll survive it."

"You'd commit suicide over him?" Trunks's eyes widened.

"If it came to that, I probably would." I said flatly, "But I don't think I'll have to even think about it. I think I literally _can't_ live without him."

Trunks was silent for a while.

"What'll I do without my dad?" he asked quietly.

I didn't have anything to say. There was nothing I _could_ say.

"Trunks, don't say that," Vegeta's voice spoke. Both Trunks and I snapped to attention. Slowly, Vegeta's eyes opened and he looked at his son.

"Dad!" The teen shot forward and hugged his father around the neck. Vegeta sat up, chuckling and attempting to disentangle himself from the half-Saiyan.

I approached more slowly, sitting on the edge of the bed and letting my tail flick over the side of my leg in a show of trust. Vegeta leaned up and kissed me gently. His lips were still kind of hot, as was the rest of his skin, but I didn't worry about it; just reveled in the fire of his taste. Trunks averted his gaze, but not before I saw the glint of amusement in his eyes.

"I should do this more often," Vegeta smirked, "Two kisses in one day and I didn't even have to do anything."

I smiled into his mouth, "You know you _could_ just ask,"

"But where's the fun in that?" he laughed, locking his arms around my neck and lying back against the pillows, pulling me down with him so that I was sprawled astride his body.

Trunks fidgeted, looking awkward, "Glad you're feeling better Dad," he said quickly, scooting off the bed and turning to leave, "Promise not to scare me like that again?"

Vegeta held his son's gaze steadily, "I can't promise that, son, but I'll do my best."

Then the prince turned back to me as his son left with a wave, he tangled his fingers in my hair, kissing my neck, "I can still do this," he breathed in my ear, "As long as you're gentle,"

I met his burning ebony eyes with my own, "I promise I will be."

Vegeta smiled and captured my mouth again, he was in control, he was setting the pace; and I gave him the reins, swearing to myself over and over that I'd never hurt him again.

TBC


	9. Part 9

**Love Has No Cure**

Part 9 – Control

Vegeta's mouth was everywhere. He trailed steamy kisses down my neck, nipping and licking the sensitive skin of my collarbone and rending my gi top in half with his fingers.

"Vegeta," I smirked, "You're so _destructive_,"

He laughed shortly, nipping my neck before replying with a leer, "And you're lucky the rooms at Capsule Corp are soundproofed."

"_I'm_ lucky?" I grinned, kissing him gently, "More like _Trunks_ is lucky,"

That elicited a chuckle from the prince and he pulled me down to kiss me passionately. I kept my mouth loose, letting him do what he would; refusing to hurt him.

Vegeta took advantage of my forced relaxation to thrust his tongue inside, sucking on my lower lip and purring darkly. One hand wandered down from my shoulder to my waist, the other spidering down my spine. The fingers of the hand at my hip loosened the waistband of my gi pants; sliding them down an inch or two. He teased the soft skin above my arousal with a gossamer touch.

"Kakarot, you _can_ touch me, you know," he purred, kissing me again.

I shivered at his touch, at his taste and shook my head quickly, "No, I won't hurt you,"

"I won't break," he growled, flipping me over so that I was on my stomach and he was sprawled over my back, sucking and nuzzling my neck and shoulder blades as his purring vibrated against my spine, "Why should you get all the fun?"

I laughed breathlessly, resting on my elbows and knees to give him room, "Believe me, Vegeta; keeping from touching you is _not_ my idea of fun,"

He put on a falsely pitying expression, fluffing his tail down my back and ribs, "Poor Kakarot. You know, actually I kind of like you like this; on your knees unable to touch me, gives me an impression of power."

I arched my back for more contact, sweating and shaking, "Why does that last part scare me a little?"

He smirked and turned my face to kiss me again, coiling his tail with mine. He bristled the fur of his own appendage, sending an electric shiver through mine and up my spine. I groaned into his mouth, but refused to take control. _I swear Vegeta… I won't hurt you_.

Sitting back, he crouched between my bent legs and wrenched my gi pants off, discarding the clothing over the side of the bed and running his hands down the butter smooth skin of the insides of my thighs. I buried a moan in the sheets, gripping the linen until my knuckles turned white, squeezing my eyes shut.

Vegeta leaned over my back again, pressing his cloth-covered arousal against my leg and dropping a kiss on the curve of my spine. His breathing had become shallow, and I could tell by his movement that he was having a hard time holding himself back. I was glad to give him this pleasure; gods know he deserved it.

The prince's hands latched onto my shoulders and he kissed the nape of my neck quickly before sliding his palms down to pinch my nipples. I groaned low in my throat, a plaintive sound that seemed to egg His Highness on. Vegeta nipped the juncture between my neck and shoulder and rolled me over again so that I was on my back, my sweat-soaked chest exposed to him. He dipped his head down and sucked on a nipple, nibbling and licking the bud until it peaked almost painfully at the attention. His fingers tormented the other nipple, squeezing it and rolling it until I was practically begging him.

He ran his tongue down washboard abs to my navel before looking up. I tipped my head back, baring my throat in a gesture of submission; giving myself to him. The instinctive action seemed to please him greatly and he purred, crawling until he was straddling my legs, peeling off his spandex leggings to press his naked flesh against mine. I whimpered with need, trying to arch into him, but he held me down.

_Get ahold of yourself!_ I berated myself, _You promised not to hurt him, don't even tempt yourself!_

"Kakarrrrot," he purred into my shoulder, nuzzling the skin gently, "You're doing well; I admire your restraint,"

I made a sound of denial, shredding the sheets between my fingers. I wasn't doing well, I was about _this_ close to tackling him and… _Don't even think about it!_

Vegeta seemed to sense my internal conflict; he rubbed his arousal against mine, the friction making us both moan raggedly, then he slid down until his face was directly in front of my erection. He feathered his tail down my leg, even tickling the sole of my foot – which was a strangely erotic motion in its own way – and his tongue peeked out between his smirking lips. I knew what was coming next – or more accurately, _who_ was coming next – and did my best to brace myself before his tongue slithered up the length of my cock to the head. I swallowed a scream, my spine buckling as I arched recklessly; still holding on to my tight rein of control; but it was slipping.

Vegeta seemed to sense I was close to the brink, and he could obviously see he wouldn't have to put up much effort to bring me to the edge. Still, that didn't stop him from enjoying his own leisurely pace; tormenting my arousal with his talented tongue and skittering his fingers down my thighs. Then he closed his mouth over the tip of my erection and I couldn't stop myself. I thrust hard into his mouth, making him wince, and filled his mouth and throat with my seed, roaring my release. Vegeta choked for a moment, struggling to drain the fluid, before lying across my chest, panting.

"S-sorry," I gasped once I got my breath back.

Vegeta's chest heaved for air; his face was shining with sweat. His arousal still pulsed against my leg; but to be blunt, he looked exhausted.

"I d-didn't hurt you did I?" I stammered.

"No, Kakarot," he panted, "I'm just… that was… a lot…."

I sat up, my chest and abdomen glistening with sweat and seed, "Do you want to stop?"

"N-no, but… could you…?" He made a vague flipping gesture with his hands.

"You want _me _to -?" I began, "But what if I lose control and hurt you again? I promised I wouldn't!"

"Just do it, Kakarot;" he smirked tiredly, "It'll be fine."

_But will _you_ be?_ I thought nervously, _If you let me take control, will _you _be fine?_

TBC


	10. Part 10:1

**Love Has No Cure**

Part 10:1 – Take It

Slowly, shakily, I flipped the prince over so that he was on his back beneath me. I handled him like a wounded animal, like a glass ornament that would shatter if I so much as touched him wrong. _I can do this for him,_ I thought, not quite able to convince myself, _I won't hurt him; even if I kill myself holding back._

Gently, tentatively, I kissed his neck without suction; simply touching my lips to the sensitive skin before moving on. My hands slipped under the collar of his denim shirt and slid, barely making contact, down his chest. The prince closed his eyes, breathing hard, head tipped back. I skimmed the pads of my fingers over his nipples, ignoring their immediate response and smoothing my palms over his skin. Vegeta's breath caught and his fingers knotted in the sheets. I knew he was already exhausted from pleasuring me; so I looked for little responses in his movement as permission to continue, and stuck to what I knew were his favorite places; never causing anything but pleasure.

Slipping the prince's shirt off gradually, I distracted him with a gentle kiss, twirling my tail over his chest and abdomen, even teasing his arousal with the furry appendage, never staying in one place for more than a few seconds. Vegeta groaned and tried to arch weakly into my touch, but his spine didn't even leave the mattress. I asked him with my eyes if I should stop or slow down, but his gaze was heavy with pleasure and he shook his head, kissing me quickly for encouragement. I went back to worshipping his chest and neck with my mouth; even taking a risk and nipping the skin gently just to hear the hitch in his breath, followed by a moan of carnal pleasure as I smoothed the offended area with my tongue.

"K- " Vegeta hissed, "Kaka-r-rot," he wrapped his arms around my neck and brought my lips up to meet his. I wanted to respond, to attack his panting mouth and explore with my tongue like I had in the past, but I forced myself to add only the slightest pressure to the kiss; refusing to lose control.

"Kakarot, stop - " I froze instantly, stilling my hands and tail and meeting his gaze, the prince's eyes were dark with guilt, _Did I hurt him? I couldn't have …. He practically begged me to -_

"Kakarot," he began again, "Stop this; s-stop torturing yourself. I know you w-want more…. Take it,"

"But I promised –" I protested.

"I know," the prince said slowly, "But at this rate, n-neither of us are going to get anything out of this; and I know y-you're not enjoying yourself as much as you should be."

"But what if I -?" I began, but he cut me off with a kiss before speaking again.

"I asked you to take control," he breathed in my ear, "So now, as your prince; I am _ordering_ you to take what you want,"

Who was I to deny my prince when he gave me a direct order?

I started touching him again, pausing in my movement to check for approval; still doubting Vegeta's decision. I really didn't want to break my promise, but I really didn't want to upset the prince either. I placed a hand with slightly more pressure than I'd been using before on his thigh and watched his face for permission. The prince's eyes narrowed and he nodded forcefully once, allowing no protest.

Hating myself for abandoning my restraint, knowing I'd regret what I was going to do; I threw caution to the wind and devoured the prince's mouth, plunging inside with my tongue and drowning in his fire like I had many times before. Vegeta growled his approval and slid his tongue against mine digging his fingernails into my shoulders. I let my eyes close, let my mind all but shut down; and let instinct take the wheel.

Coiling my tail tightly around his, choking it and scrubbing the dual lengths of fur together at a reckless pace, I gripped his upper arms with enough force to bruise a human and lifted them over the prince's head, exposing his chest. I moved down his chest slowly, licking, sucking and biting the skin, even drawing blood at some point before licking it away. Vegeta didn't protest, he even encouraged me, threading his fingers through my hair and making appreciative sounds as I ravished his body.

I tried to hold onto my last shreds of sanity, to honor my promise not to hurt the prince, but he made it very difficult; writhing and whimpering, begging for more and tangling his fingers in my untidy black spikes, sliding his erection against mine. He licked at my neck, bringing his tail – still twined with mine – around to torment my arousal.

At last, with a snarl, I broke.

I was an animal, a creature of sensation, hardly knowing where one body ended and the other began. It was madness, and it was beautiful. I scratched and bit and growled, taking and giving everything at once, the prince's shouts of pleasure ringing in my ears, the scent of his sweat and blood sharp in my nostrils. I slammed into him, hitting home instantly and swallowing his scream in a crippling kiss. Every thrust was heaven, every moan was a symphony, and the prince's scent and taste was an aphrodisiac. Pure, Saiyan violence goaded me on, picking up the pace and kissing the breath out of the prince beneath me.

Vegeta broke away suddenly; I barely registered the mingled ecstasy and agony on his face before he threw his head back, screaming my name and coming so hard he passed out. I followed his release a stroke later before collapsing across his chest, my lungs screaming for air. My head was spinning and I let my eyes flit closed and joined the prince in repose.

I opened my eyes. I didn't know how much time had passed. A minute? An hour? Vegeta was curled in the curve of my body, my arm across his side in a protective gesture. His tail was still wound with mine, but it was a gentler kind of embrace. Propping myself on one elbow, I looked down at my prince.

I had to bite my tongue to keep from screaming.

His bronze skin was a mess of bruises ranging from faded purple to the closest thing to black I was likely to see on his skin. His chest and arms were scratched to the point of bleeding, and the prince's bloodstream's slow clotting meant that they were _still_ bleeding after… how long? I had no idea. His tail was lackluster and drooping and his torn lips were almost completely obscured by a dark, ugly bruise. I winced to think of the pain he would be in when he awoke. _What have I done?_

Sliding out of bed as slowly and discreetly as I could; I retrieved my gi pants from the floor and slipped them on, glancing around for my shirt. I found the blue garment, but it was ripped in half down the middle. Cursing under my breath, I opened the top drawer of the dresser at one end of the room and fished around inside, discarding useless items until I found what I was looking for; three senzu beans.

Grabbing the biggest of the three, I crossed the room again and crawled into bed, biting back my renewed shock as the full extent of the prince's injuries hit me again. _My fault…. All my fault._

Soothingly, I caressed the uninjured side of his face with my tail, murmuring quiet things to rouse him gently from his sleep. Vegeta blinked once, twice, and his gaze found me. A shiver ran down the length of his body and he sat up, biting his lip and wincing.

"Here," I handed him the senzu and he blinked gratefully, placing the bean in his mouth and chewing it painfully. Then he sat very still as it worked its magic; the worst bruises fading away and the cuts closing.

He sighed, getting to his feet, tail flicking through the air.

I wanted to apologize a million times, down on my knees, and swear to never hurt him again; but I'd already done that; I'd already broken that promise once, so I held my tongue and watched my lover dress himself slowly.

"Thank you, Kakarot," he said eventually. I thought he meant for the senzu and started babbling about how he'd do the same for me; but he turned and cut me off with a stare.

"For doing as I said," he finished.

"But – but I broke my promise; I hurt you _again_!"

"If I tiptoed around trying not to get hurt every day until I succumbed to this godsdamned disease and died I'd never get anything _done,_" he growled, "I wouldn't trade last night for anything. At least I'll have something good to remember when I'm gone,"

I blinked slowly, "You thought that was good?"

"Stop fishing for compliments," the prince smirked, whacking me with his tail.

I returned his smirk and let my shoulders loosen, "Whatever you say, Your Highness. I don't need compliments, I got more than enough out of you last night,"

Vegeta snorted, pulling on his gloves, "Whatever, Kakarot."

TBC


	11. Part 10:2

**Love Has No Cure**

Part 10:2 – If Worst Comes To Worst

After getting the okay from Bulma, I teleported Vegeta and myself home; following Goten's ki signal. Once we rematerialized in the living room, I laid _Ongaku_ on the couch and looked around for my youngest son. He was sitting at the table, doing homework by the look of it.

"Hey Dad. Hey Vegeta," he greeted us distractedly without turning around.

"Hi Goten," I replied, leaning over his shoulder, "Whatcha working on?"

"Pre-Algebra homework," he muttered.

My eyebrows shot up but I said nothing.

"Why aren't you wearing a shirt?" he asked after a moment, turning in his seat and tapping his pencil against the side of the chair.

"Uh…." I said brilliantly.

"I destroyed it," Vegeta growled, his eyes bright with suppressed amusement.

Goten smirked knowingly, "Should've guessed; I know how much you like destroying things,"

I glanced at Vegeta with something like exasperation. The kid was corrupted enough without him putting _that_ image in his head. The prince made no apology, just stood there with his nose in the air arrogantly. I knew it was an act and just turned my back on him.

"Well at least you're both in one piece," the demi went on, still smirking.

I shifted guiltily, remembering the bruises that had blackened my lover's body. If Vegeta had been the one without a shirt, Goten would have seen the evidence of last night's violence – the senzu had healed most of the injuries, but not all.

Goten turned back to his paper for a moment, then growled at stood up, "Screw it, I'm not gonna get this damn worksheet done any time soon."

I almost rebuked him for his language but then decided I didn't really mind.

"Hey Dad, let's eat. I'm starving," the teen continued, tipping his head at Vegeta to imply he was welcome too. I nearly reminded him this was more Vegeta's house than ours; but again, I wondered why I cared. Vegeta's sickness had put a lot of things in perspective, I guess.

"Yeah, I'm starving too," I agreed, I hadn't eaten in almost two days, "How 'bout you, Vegeta?"

He hesitated before shrugging noncommittally. I decided to take that as a yes. Goten rummaged around, stacking food on the table and putting aside his math books to make room. He also handed me a dark blue shirt; which I put on despite having no idea where he'd gotten it.

Goten was digging into a sandwich and I was surveying the spread, deciding on what to eat first. Vegeta slowly picked up an apple and took a single bite out of it. Instantly he doubled over and vomited on the carpet. He looked up to see both of us staring in that little moment of silence before all hell breaks loose, then staggered to the sink and vomited again. I shot to my feet without a word and dashed to his side; Goten just stared, eyes widening by degrees.

"What happened?" I asked somewhat frantically; I suppose I should've been used to strange occurrences with the prince, but I just _never knew_ what to expect anymore.

Vegeta braced his hands on the side of the sink, gulping air before he replied, "I-I guess… that didn't ag-agree with me,"

I placed a hand on his shoulder, steadying him, "I meant _why_,"

"Ask... the w-woman," he stammered, groping for a chair and sitting shakily.

"Bulma? What does she have to do with - ?" Goten asked exactly what I'd been about to.

Vegeta rubbed his knuckles into his temples, his voice was steadier when he spoke, "She gave me a shot before you teleported me here,"

"A shot?" the word instantly set me alert, probably my fear of needles.

Goten got to his feet and grabbed a towel and some carpet cleaner without being asked. He handed them to me and turned to fill a glass of water from the sink. I resolved to marvel at his maturity later and set to work cleaning the stain on the carpet.

Vegeta nodded mutely, "'Said I needed supplements to keep me on my feet,"

"You mean like steroids?" Goten asked, handing the prince the water and sitting down.

I blinked, why the hell would a _Saiyan_ need steroids? Weren't those like drugs that increased muscle mass?

Vegeta nodded again, sipping the water tentatively as if it might poison him, "She mentioned something about chemotherapy, I said she was insane but she didn't want to hear it,"

Goten sat up straight, "She's trying to use human treatments on an alien? Doesn't she realize that could be _really _dangerous?"

"Apparently not," I growled, attacking the stain with renewed vigor, "I'll have to talk to her; you said the disease was incurable right?"

"Well… there _was_ a treatment," the prince said slowly, "It didn't usually work, and I'm not sure exactly what it was…"

"Probably some super rare otherworldly extraterrestrial fungus or something," Goten sighed, "Either way, we've got about _this _much chance," he held up two fingers less than an inch apart, "Of finding it – if it even still _exists_ – before…" he trailed off and made a vague gesture at Vegeta.

"So, what, now I'm a ticking time bomb?" Vegeta sneered, gulping the water angrily and slamming the glass on the table. Somehow it didn't shatter, and that said a lot about the prince's current condition.

I wasn't sure if he was angry at Goten for being brash, or at himself for being weak, or at the universe for dooming him like this. Maybe it was some combination thereof.

I tossed the soiled towel in the garbage can and set the cleaning fluid on the counter before sitting down next to the prince, touching my tail to his comfortingly. He put a hand on my leg to acknowledge the action and bowed his head. I swore I saw silent tears there before he hid them.

"Vegeta," I said gently, trying to meet his gaze and failing. He just lowered his head further, covering his eyes with his free hand as if he was ashamed of his tears.

"It's… It's selfish of me," he muttered; his voice oddly steady and flat, "I don't care that you're going… to lose me. I care more that_ I'm_ going to lose_ you_…"

"Who?" Goten and I asked at the same time.

"_All _of you," he made a vague movement with his hand that could have meant anywhere from just himself, Goten and I or the planet's entire populous, "Everyone I care about… Every…" he took a shuddering breath and continued, "…Everyone I l_ove_,"

Goten and I stared in rapt attention. It may just have been another mood swing, but the prince was actually pouring out his soul, explaining his _feelings_.

"…And there's not a _gods-fucking-damn_ thing I can do about it!" he shouted, almost a sob, "What's the p-point of being the second most powerful person in the _universe_ if I can't even….?" He reined in his despair and attempted to put on his usual scowl.

I didn't think; I just leaned across the space between us and hugged the prince, whispering soothing things in his ear and stroking a flat hand up and down his spine.

"It's okay, just let it out. You're among friends, Vegeta,"

Vegeta bit back a sob and leaned back into my embrace, "You're not just a _friend,_ Kakarot," he choked, "You're so much more,"

"I know… I know," I murmured soberly, still soothing the distraught prince.

"I d - I don't want to… to die, Kakarot," he whimpered, "Not for real; not when I c-can't be wished back…."

"I know," I continued my steady mantra of comforting words, running my fingers through his hair gently; almost a petting motion, "I know you're scared,"

The prince's head jerked in a shallow nod. I'd never once seen him admit he was scared of anything.

"Vegeta," Goten spoke up hesitantly, "You're… you're a good person now, maybe King Yemma will give you a body and let you go to Otherworld…."

"Maybe," I nodded assent; that had occurred to me too.

"I don't c-care," Vegeta growled, "I'll still be alone,"

_Oh, _that's _it, _I thought, _He's not afraid of dying, he's afraid of being alone._

"I'll go with you," I promised, "When you go; I'll go with you,"

Vegeta sat bolt upright, whipping around to look at me with wide, shocked eyes.

"Y-you would _die_… for me?" he asked incredulously.

"I have before, how is this any different?" I pointed out.

"You… you'd _kill yourself_ -?"

"Trunks asked much the same," I said, "I don't think I'll need to; but if worst comes to worst, I'd be willing to."

Vegeta's eyes flashed with a million emotions and thoughts. That was one thing I'd always admired about him, he could hold an unreadable expression under any circumstances; only his eyes gave him away.

Once the prince had taken in what I'd said he cracked a very, very small smile and embraced me, resting his head on my shoulder. There was a sudden wetness there; he was crying again, but this time I think it was because he was deeply moved.

"I love you, Kakarot," he whispered, nuzzling my neck gently, "I don't think you'll ever know how much I mean that,"

"I think I have a pretty good idea, if it's anything like the way I feel about you," Disregarding Goten's presence, I brought the prince's lips up to mine and kissed him chastely; just gentle, innocent contact, nothing more. And nothing less.

"Come on, you need some sleep," I scooped up the smaller prince and helped him to his feet. He twined his tail tightly with mine and allowed me to lead him to our bedroom. Goten smiled as we left and went back to eating.

Vegeta crawled into bed and slid under the blanket slowly. I completely forgot about my hunger in favor of comforting the prince, and lay down next to him, purring for him and petting his hair until he fell asleep with his head on my chest. I let it vibrate with the light, soothing music of my purr for a while longer; watching my beautiful prince slumber peacefully, then let my eyes close and rested as well; realizing that I'd had a deep, somewhat surprising conversation with nearly every member of my little family – some twice – within a twenty-four hour period.

That thought remained in my head like a warm blanket until I drifted to sleep; maybe I was finally beginning to understand people. And I didn't know if I believed in happy endings, but I found myself wishing, praying, that Vegeta would find his after this whole mess was sorted.

TBC


	12. Part 11

**Love Has No Cure**

Part 11 – Vacation

"Woman, I'm taking a vacation," Vegeta said the next day without warning. He and I were back at Capsule Corp, aiming to confront Bulma about her attempt to use chemotherapy techniques on Vegeta when he suddenly said this out of nowhere.

Bulma laughed and waited for him to say he wasn't serious, but the prince didn't budge.

"You mean it? Gods, Vegeta, I don't think you've ever taken a vacation in your life," she said quickly, still trying not to laugh, "You're actually serious?"

I shot a sideways glance at the prince; this was news to me, and I had to wonder for myself if he was kidding or not.

"I mean it, woman. I'm taking Kakarot with me," he laced his fingers with mine and went on boldly, "I won't be here for a week so I need you to watch Trunks. I've already spoken to Gohan and he said he'd take care of Kakarot's youngest."

"You're leaving for a week? Why? When did you decide this?" Bulma demanded.

"I need to get away," Vegeta stated calmly, "I've got a limited amount of time left to live and I want to spend as much of it as I can enjoying life while I have it."

I watched him warily, waiting for some kind of catch to show up. He hadn't told _me_ about this…. _What are you up to, Vegeta?_

"But…. What about -?" Bulma stuttered.

"What don't you understand? So long as you agree to watch my son – and you've never refused in the past – and you don't have a problem with me being gone – which won't affect you anyway – then I don't see any reason not to."

"It's just so…. unlike you," I felt inclined to agree with Bulma this time.

"You haven't said anything thus far, Kakarot. What are your thoughts?" Vegeta turned to me, his tail a question mark in the air.

"I don't know," I said carefully, "I don't see why not, but…"

"Of course _you_ agree with him, Goku," Bulma muttered.

"Well, sure," I said dismissively, "If he feels well enough, I say let him go for it."

"But –"

"But what, woman?" Vegeta growled.

"You're a _cancer patient_, Vegeta. I just don't think –"

I cut her off with a snarl, "There isn't anything anyone can do about that. Vegeta knows he's going to die and he wants to spend his remaining time enjoying himself, what's wrong with that?"

Bulma silenced herself, blue eyes wide. I think I scared her and I apologized silently with my eyes.

"Where will you go?" she asked quietly.

Vegeta looked thoughtful, "I had a place in mind, but I won't give details because you'll just follow me there and I _really_ don't need the disturbance."

I looked at the prince again, realizing he looked worn out. Not physically, he looked better than he had in days, but his eyes just seemed old and tired.

"Well, I agree one hundred percent," I declared confidently, "He'll be with me, what could possibly happen?"

Bulma seemed ready to list a million possible scenarios, but she kept them to herself and shrugged, "It's your funeral,"

Then she froze and clapped a hand over her mouth, "Oh, Vegeta, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it like that!"

Vegeta just waved her off, "Whatever, woman."

"When do you leave?" she asked, looking shaken.

"Today, once I get everything sorted. Actually the only thing preventing my departure is you, woman."

"Me?" Bulma blinked.

"Will you watch Trunks for me or not?"

"Of course! What, did you think I'd leave him on the street or something?"

"Good, then I'll need your senzu stock," Vegeta's tail slashed through the air once.

"How many?"

"All of them."

"_All _of them? But what if -?"

Vegeta lifted his shirt a little in answer, revealing a long, ugly bruise stretching from just below his ribcage to behind his hip. I stared, I didn't remember him having that one.

"How did that happen?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"I'm glad you asked;" Vegeta growled, not sounding glad at all, "I was walking downstairs, minding my own business and having a conversation with your eldest on the way down, when I stumbled and hit my chest on the banister. A few minutes later _this_ showed up," he gestured at the mark.

"So…" Bulma began, not taking her eyes off the streak until the prince lowered his shirt again.

"So if I can injure myself just walking down the _stairs_, I think I'll need to have some senzu on hand if I'm going to be gone for a week."

"Right," Bulma said quickly, wisely choosing not to argue further with the irritated prince. She left the room in a rush, muttering; _of all the races on Earth, why did I get stuck with Saiyans?_

"So, Vegeta," I said sleekly once she was gone, "Any particular reason why you're taking _me_ on your little vacation?"

He met my gaze sincerely, not rising to the bait and actually taking me seriously.

"I wasted over two decades of my life waiting for you; I wasted four years more essentially mistreating you; I want to spend at least one week with you alone… So I can make up for all those years of ignorance and regret before I die."

I blinked, "Oh." That was _not_ the answer I'd expected.

"I've told you over and over that I love you, Kakarot. I want to have a chance to _show _you what that means." The determination and passion in his gaze stabbed right through me.

"So you're doing this… for _me_?" The last word came out a little more high-pitched than I would've liked.

"For _us_, Kakarot; for _us_," Gods, when he said that I swear my entire body turned to molten Jell-O.

"After all, we're both slowly approaching the same doomsday; aren't we? Why shouldn't the last ride be a memorable one?"

It took a second for the meaning in his words to click; when it did, I felt an unexpected rush of sorrow. _I'm going to die again; so is he. Whatever happens, we'll both end up dead in the end._

Bulma returned with a small plastic container. I think she was surprised to see us less than an inch apart, gazing into each other's eyes.

She cleared her throat and handed Vegeta the container, "Senzu. There are nine of them; that should be more than enough."

Vegeta dipped his head in thanks and grabbed my hand, "Well then, we're off."

And he blasted through the open window without another word, leading me to whatever place he had in mind; one last fling before the end for both of us.

Turns out, Vegeta's idea of a vacation was an uninhabited island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I couldn't agree more that the place was perfect – but hey, I'd go anywhere with the prince at this point so that didn't really count.

The whole island was covered in thick jungle and white sand beaches. There was everything from flat, level areas of nothing but trees; to shallow chains of mountains and what may have been a volcano. The island was at the center of an archipelago of equally empty smaller islands that formed a sort of crescent shape around a turquoise bay. It looked like a postcard.

"Enjoying the view, Kakarot?" the prince laughed from hovering slightly below where I was flying. I looked down at him, beaming.

Vegeta smirked and streaked down to the island, "Come on, I'll show you where we're staying!" he threw over his shoulder. I shook off my amazement and followed; the prince actually seemed to be enjoying himself, he seemed relaxed and carefree. I vowed to keep it that way all week.

"What is this place?" I asked as the prince led me to what looked like a cabin in a clearing in the jungle. Despite the island being uninhabited, the house was spotless, save a few creepers sprawling up the sturdy-looking walls.

"I have no idea," Vegeta admitted, laughing shortly, "I ran into it a few years ago while I was looking for something to blow up and decided to clean the place up a bit."

"Why?"

"At the time I thought it would make a good summer home. A place to get away from the woman's nagging, where I could be by myself and sleep under the stars. Also it gave me something to do. There's something very satisfying in a job well done, especially if the job involves disintegrating useless, broken furniture and scaffolding."

"And now you're using it as a vacation spot?"

"Same basic idea, except I have _you _here," I didn't know if I liked the self-satisfied smirk on his face, "Come on inside, it's air-conditioned."

"Whoa, really?" I mean, sure, the house looked like it had been updated – I spotted a few Capsule Corp-like additions to the design – but that was pretty darn cool.

It looked a lot bigger on the inside. The walls were strong – concrete on the outside, but mostly wooden on the inside - and in some places, the rooms were well-lit, in others; it was dark in an almost sultry way. The floor was almost entirely tile and carpet and the ceiling – which seemed to be made of _glass _in some places – shaded some areas and let in the sun's light in others. It was contradictory and modern, just like Vegeta.

"Wow," I breathed, "This is amazing, how come you never came here before now?"

"I have, idiot. Otherwise it would still be a ruin of driftwood and straw,"

"No, I meant just to visit; not to build."

"I don't know," Vegeta flicked on a light switch and the shady room we were in instantly brightened with fluorescent lights, "I got kind of carried away with building it; and I guess I never really had reason or time to actually_ use_ it."

"How did you smuggle all this stuff under Bulma's nose? Doesn't she notice the electric bill?" _Or that at least twenty-five thousand dollars-worth of equipment and furniture is missing? _ I added silently, _Not to mention the walls and flooring… and the lighting…_

"She's rich, Kakarot; ridiculously so. Probably wouldn't even notice if I bought a private jet and personal limo service for life. Not that I'd need either of those things, obviously. Besides, it's a relatively small place and I only used the bare minimum."

"Yeah right," I said sarcastically, "This place probably has wireless cable TV and automatic-flushing toilets."

Vegeta chuckled, "No, but it does have a very nice kitchen."

Amazing though the cabin was; I was even more amazed by the prince himself. Vegeta remained in high spirits as he all but gave me a tour of his creation. He'd really thought ahead, and suddenly this vacation didn't seem like such an out-of-the-blue idea. I wondered how long he'd been planning for this.

"I saved the best for last," Vegeta grinned, taking me by the hand like an eager child and leading me down the hall.

I followed without hesitation, reveling in this happier side of the prince. He'd probably spent too much of his life destroying things and was just now learning the pride in creating something of his own. I'd felt that pride when I wrote my first song, so I knew exactly how he was feeling right now.

Vegeta paused with his hand on the doorknob of a tall, cherry wood door. He waited a moment, savoring the anticipation before swinging the door open.

I stepped in and looked around. It was _completely_ dark. Even with my sensitive Saiyan eyes I couldn't see a thing. So I relied on my other senses at first. The room smelled of fire and musk, a heady, smoky smell like the prince himself. It had a warm feeling to it, and the sound of a ceiling fan clicked in the background.

"Close your eyes," Vegeta whispered in my ear. I did as he said and heard the diminutive flick of a light switch.

"Okay, now you can look."

I opened my eyes slowly. The room was lit by a grand fireplace in the corner – one that was apparently activated by light switch – and almost the whole room was taken up by a large, magnificent bed, tented by a canopy of dark red silk with steel supports. The sheets and blankets were luxurious – the sheets and pillows were coal black and the comforter was a rich, garnet color. The floor was entirely covered in dark, ebon shag carpet, and lamps with red and black shades adorned the pine wood surfaces of a bedside table and a dresser, giving off a sexy orange glow. An intricate ceiling fan rotated slowly above, doing nothing to take away from the dusky, fiery aura of the room. It was like being in a furnace at night.

I took in the whole scene, at a loss for words. When I thought of a royal bedroom, this is what came to mind. All it was missing was a throne. Vegeta had outdone himself, plain and simple.

"You like it?" he asked, leaning against my back and resting his chin on my shoulder.

"You have amazing taste," I replied honestly, fluffing my tail against his.

"I know," he murmured, planting a kiss on the juncture of my shoulder and smiling.

"I can tell this room was your favorite,"

"Actually it looked _nothing_ like this until recently," the prince smirked.

"Then you -?" I began, realizing what he was thinking.

"Yes Kakarot, I designed this for you, for _us_."

I felt a shiver run down my spine at the intent behind his seemingly innocent words. The implication was anything but innocent.

"I… I don't know, Vegeta," I stammered, uneasy, "After what happened last time I don't know if I can – "

"You would let all my hard work go to waste?" he pried teasingly, letting his tail flick over mine, stimulating the sensitive fur and sending a chill up the length.

"I just…" I began, taking a step away from him and wringing my hands, "I don't know…"

He blinked; this was obviously not the reaction he'd thought he'd get. I hated to disappoint him, but I didn't want to lose control again; never again.

"Kakarot, look at me," Vegeta said quietly.

I did, and I saw him as if for the first time. Lit by the flickering fireplace and the humid glow of the lamps, he looked like a wild animal, a feral warrior prince; the proud ruler he'd been born to be. His arms crossed; his auburn tail swished through the air, accenting his hips and thighs sensually with practiced ease. The evidence of his intent was obvious, the shadows starkly showing off the bulge in the front of his spandex, which he did nothing to conceal.

"Do I look _fragile_ to you, Kakarot? Do I look _weak_?" he asked sharply.

"N-no," I whispered, "But – "

"There was a _reason_ I demanded the woman's supply of senzu for our _vacation_," he was still emphasizing certain words, his tail lashing on each one. He circled me once, twice, never taking his burning ebony eyes off mine.

Suddenly the whole thing made sense. Vegeta had known – even _planned_ - what was going to happen here all along. He'd prepared for it; designating a private location where no one would interrupt or worry, telling those he knew that he was leaving ahead of time, bringing as many senzu as he could get his hands on to alleviate inevitable injuries. He'd even designed a totally awesome room.

"Now do you get it, Kakarot?" he stopped his circling and fixed me with his smoldering gaze, nothing short of excitement in his eyes.

I nodded twice, feeling like an idiot.

"Good," Vegeta stole a quick kiss before standing back, "Under normal circumstances I'd burn your clothing off and throw you to the floor, but now I'll have to punish you for delaying my conquest," I caught the mischievous glint in his eyes and shivered involuntarily.

"Don't worry, Kakarot. You'll like this punishment," he flicked the tip of his tail under my chin and smirked, "I promise you that."

TBC


	13. Part 12

**Love Has No Cure**

Part 12 – Seizing The Day

Vegeta took a seat on the edge of the gorgeous bed and sat back, watching me with undisguised lust written all over his face.

"Strip for me, Kakarot; _slowly_,"

_This is his "punishment" for me?_ I thought. Of course, the prince didn't really intend to punish me, but I thought it would at least be more dire or embarrassing than this.

Said prince flicked the end of his tail, signaling for me to begin.

Suddenly I wasn't sure exactly where to start. I felt much as I did when I had to perform a song for an audience – whether it was one person or sixty, I always felt a little nervous and unsure. _Then do what you do when you have to perform. Close your eyes and keep moving forward._

I took my own advice, closing my eyes and twirling my tail through the air to keep myself moving. I remembered over two years back when the prince had stripped for me in a bathroom, and decided to start where he had.

I ran my fingers through my own hair slowly, separating the individual strands so that the usually distinct spikes became rougher and looser and my bangs hung in my face. I felt the prince's gaze on me and started purring to ease my nerves, slowly swaying in time with the vibrating sound. I moved my skittering fingers down to trace my jawline and move down my neck, hoping my unease didn't show. I supposed feigning confidence was about the same as actually _being_ confident, so I kept my expression neutral and concentrated on breathing steadily.

I skimmed my fingers down my sides to my hips, sliding them along the waistband of my jeans and flicking the button open. Attempting to conceal my nervousness, I flipped my hair into my face with a toss of my head to hide my blush as I slid the zipper down, unhindered by the movement of my swaying hips; trying to keep in rhythm.

I registered the slow inhale and exhale of the prince's breathing, _totally in control, as always,_ I thought; frustrated, _why do _I _always feel like the blundering idiot and he's completely cool and collected…. And sexy…_ That last thought leapt to my mind unbidden and I couldn't stop a grin from quirking my mouth as I pictured my lover, poised and proud, watching me "perform" for him. The idea gave me the confidence I needed.

Inching the jeans down slowly, I let my tail curl through the air before threading through the hole I'd put in all my pants to give said tail its freedom. It swung at my waistline fluidly as the garment was discarded before coiling around my leg; slithering up and down like a furry black snake.

I toed off my shoes briskly and tossed them aside, listening for the dual thud as they hit the wall before falling to the floor. Aware that I was wearing absolutely nothing but my dark blue T-shirt, I let my eyes open and fix on the prince, trouncing my unease for the final time and fingering the hem of the garment.

My breathing had become rather rough and I had to keep up a steady purr to keep inhaling at all. Vegeta was watching me, staring with rapt attention and desire as I slid the thin cloth of the shirt up my chest before hooking the article of clothing over my shoulders and letting it fall to the floor. The prince drank in the display, tail lashing but otherwise completely still save the rising and falling of his chest and the occasional blink.

I stilled myself as well, letting my tail uncoil from my waist to feather over my own erection, brushing the silky fur over the hypersensitive, taut skin with enough subtlety to make me gasp for air. I combed a hand through my hair again, my eyes never leaving the prince's. He stood slowly; oh, so slowly, before striding up to me. He stopped; so close to me that I could feel his body heat.

"Kakarrrrot," he purred, his tail thrashing, as if demanding to reach out and touch. I had to admire his self-control. He could even keep his tail from doing as it pleased; something I had a hard time with.

My own purr caught in my chest as he trailed a finger down my shoulder, the gossamer touch shooting heat straight to my groin and feeding my throbbing arousal. I kept my tail moving around the area of my desire, hoping to at least partially conceal how much I ached for his touch.

"You're beautiful," he murmured, freeing his tail from its restraint and letting it curl around my wrist.

I couldn't trust myself to speak, much less reply to the compliment with enough gratitude to satisfy the proud prince.

Vegeta leaned against my chest slowly, making me stumble backwards. I lost the fight to keep standing, and eventually just let myself collapse backward onto the bed behind me with the prince sprawled across my chest. I felt like a klutz and hid my blush to the best of my ability.

"I don't think I could have done what you did with such fluid confidence," Vegeta murmured, tracing the chiseled muscles of my chest with a detached air.

"C-confidence?" I choked. I'd been a nervous wreck the whole time, trying not to look like a fool, what was he talking about?

"Mmh," Vegeta purred, dipping his head down to lick one of my nipples, "I was drooling like a schoolgirl the whole time,"

I decided to remain silent at this and not make a bigger idiot of myself.

"The way you played with your hair," he went on, still exploring with his mouth, "And moved your hips," he paused to yank his spandex shirt off, "Always touching yourself and tossing your head; so confident, assertive, beautiful, and so very, alluringly_, _smokingly,_ sexy._"

I stared. Were we talking about the same thing?

"Kakarot, you've earned your reward, and then some," the prince said smoothly, sliding his tight-fitting leggings off and straddling my waist, "I can't give _half_ of what you could, not in my condition; but I'll leave it up to you. Take or be taken, I'll be more than happy either way."

"Well it's _your_ turn," I pointed out. We didn't intentionally "take turns" but it seemed to just work out that way most times.

"What do _you_ want, Kakarot?" I thought about it. I was quite happy either way, and I didn't want to overexert the prince; but nor did I want to lose control again.

I made my decision with a smirk and an unexpected rush of daring, "Fuck me, my prince."

Vegeta blinked. Apparently he hadn't expected that. I didn't blame him; _I_ didn't expect that either.

I urged him on with an all too brief kiss, grinning as I scooted further up on the bed to give him room.

Vegeta's lips turned up in a lascivious smirk. He stalked on his elbows and knees up to me before pouncing athwart my chest and attacking my mouth vigorously. I responded in kind, following the pace the prince set; giving only as much as he gave, taking only as much as he took. Vegeta's tongue wrestled with mine, his teeth gnashing and his breath steaming across my face.

His hand slid down to stroke my erection, giving it a long squeeze and teasing the tip with his thumb. I groaned in appreciation and let him plunder my mouth again, refusing to think about anything and ruin the moment. Vegeta's hand moved away from my arousal to support his weight while the other caressed my face, smoothing the pad of one finger over my eyelid, following the fan of lashes out before trailing down my cheek to my jaw where he cupped my chin.

"So sweet, so soft; Kakarot," he purred quietly; kissing the tip of my nose lightly. I trilled my own purr in response; a slightly higher sound that harmonized perfectly with his low rumbling.

"Ready?" he asked, looking deep into my eyes as if he couldn't get enough.

I nodded once sharply, "Go for it,"

He smirked and captured my mouth again, his free hand that wasn't braced against the bed to support him moved from my jaw, and he broke away long enough to insert two fingers in his own mouth, rolling the digits around in a completely erotic action before removing them and returning to the kiss. He slid the saliva-slicked fingers down, gently tracing and circling my entrance. He always did this. It made me feel like I was thoughtless for not preparing him when I took control; but he never complained, never protested. I couldn't believe I'd ever thought of him as a cold, unfeeling bastard. He cared enough to make sure I never got hurt during any of this; even if I couldn't say the same about myself.

Vegeta warned me with a gentle bite on my lower lip before he slid one finger inside. Now familiar with the sensation, I enjoyed the leisurely stroke and encouraged him by arching against the movement of the finger. He slipped in another and thrust a few times, I knew he was searching for that one spot –

"Gods, Vegeta!" I shouted; bucking against his fingers as they brushed against that bundle of nerves inside that always caused this reaction in me. Vegeta smirked, satisfied that he'd gotten the appropriate response, and massaged the spot a few times just to hear me whimper his name before removing the fingers. I didn't have time to miss the pressure as he filled me slowly, touching his lips to mine in an ethereal kiss.

The first stroke was shallow and slow; I knew the prince was a bit worn out; but he didn't disappoint. Gathering his remaining energy, he flared to Super Saiyan – I hadn't even known he could still do that – and thrust in hard, once, twice, hitting that one amazing spot again and again, strangling my tail with his. Holding back nothing, he pounded faster, sweating, barely able to breathe, with every thrust, I whimpered and moaned, barely able to stand it. He'd never done this while ascended; was so much bigger, so much harder, at Super Saiyan; and it didn't take long to push me to the edge. I teetered there on the cusp of climax; and of course he decided to take advantage of that and bent over, closing his lips over the head of my arousal and letting his tongue flick out just once.

I screamed his name and my whole world went white. I lost my sanity and was smothered in a wave of pleasure so intense that I my heart stopped beating for all of three seconds.

I blinked and shook my head quickly to clear it. I was lying flat on my back, my chest heaving for air. I blinked again, my vision focusing. Vegeta was lying next to me on his side, eyes closed, breathing shallowly and sweating rivers. His hair was dark again and he looked like he was fighting just to keep inhaling; almost like he was having a seizure.

"Vegeta," I shook his shoulder, "Are you okay?"

His eyes opened slowly, blinking rapidly to focus on me.

"Nh," he grunted, shifting into a sitting position, "Exhausted,"

"Sorry," I mumbled, sitting up as well.

"Don't be," the prince smirked tightly, "I came _twice_, just listening to you."

"Seriously?"

He nodded, "At first it was heaven," he said raggedly, "But then it just _wouldn't stop."_ He looked more irritated than upset. And even then, it was just his usual princely act.

I blinked; then burst out laughing, "Only you, Vegeta. Only you would complain about orgasming _two times in a row."_

"What about you? You just about passed out," he leered lecherously, "I've still got the moves, don't I?"

"Well I've never been fucked by a Super Saiyan before," I said bluntly.

"It's really that good?" he actually seemed interested.

I grinned evilly, "Wanna find out?"

The prince sighed, rubbing his temples wearily, "Maybe tomorrow; right now, I'm tired."

"Okay," I leaned against the charcoal-colored pillows and slid under the blankets, tossing them over the prince as well, "Goodnight."

"And to you as well, Kakarot."

TBC


	14. Part 13

**Love Has No Cure**

Part 13 – 'Til Death And Beyond

The sun was just coming up, painting the beach with mist and streaks of red and pink that bled from the horizon to cast orange shadows on the sea. I lay in the warm sand; Vegeta's head on my chest, watching the tide recede and listening to the birds chattering in the trees behind us. It was a moment of peace, just enjoying each other's company and forgetting about the world.

A breeze stirred the air, ruffling my hair so that it tickled the prince's face. He looked up, fixing me with his dark, dark eyes for a moment before lying back down and linking his fingers with mine.

"This is nice, Kakarot," he murmured, sweeping his tail through the sand slowly.

I let my gaze wander over his body; admiring the little things; the sliver of revealed chest muscle that was mostly hidden by his dark blue shirt, the thin shadow that fell across his face when he turned his head, the smoothness of his bronze skin; still blotched with pale bruises in places, but beautiful nonetheless; and the velvet of a faded battle scar exposed on the side of his shoulder.

"Yes it is," I agreed when I realized he was waiting for a reply. I wished I could just stop time and let this moment last forever. I wished I could delay the end for as long as possible. But nothing _really _ended; hadn't I said so myself once? Maybe this ending would just be a new beginning. Either way, I wanted to face it with my prince by my side.

_Holding up the pieces_

_The fragments of your face_

_Stretching out the memories_

_And waiting to begin_

_Shadows growing longer_

_Day is at an end_

_Curtains closing over you_

_Where do I begin?_

_If I could freeze time, I would choose today_

_To spend my life forever_

_Here with you and only you_

_If you could take a moment_

_And turn it to forever_

_Which moment in this lifetime would you choose?_

The lyrics belonged to a song I had written not so long ago; I never gave it a title, but it seemed appropriate in the moment, and I hummed the melody under my breath, brushing my tail over the prince's face gently. He purred and snuggled closer to me, resting his head on my shoulder and watching my face with half-mast ebony eyes.

I kissed him briefly, savoring the moment for as long as I could. The sun had cleared the horizon and was banishing the lingering mist; the sky a pale, clear blue of a perfect, cloudless day.

We could have laid on the beach all day, just sat back and watched the sun traverse the sky, but we only had four or five more days of "vacation" left, and there was more to do. I feathered my tail over Vegeta's chin and neck to let him know it was time to go; tickling him, teasing him. He squirmed a little; flashing a smile and taking the end of the fuzzy length in his hand, watching it undulate between his fingers. Bringing the furry tip up to his mouth, he kissed it, closing his lips over the soft fur and eliciting a sigh from me. He let his tongue flick over the tip of the tail and I laughed at the sensation, pulling my tail free from his grip and standing up.

"Come on, if you start that with me we'll be here all day," I said smoothly, helping him to his feet.

"What's wrong with that?"

"For one thing, we won't get to fish and then we won't have breakfast," I replied, "And then we'll be hungry and irritable and be at each other's throats all day. Not the way I'd like to spend my vacation."

"Hn, okay fine; but _you_ have to cook the fish," he smirked, whacking me with his tail.

"You're lucky, that's the _one_ thing I _can_ cook," I flicked him with my own tail in response.

He shoved me playfully, racing me up the beach. I chased him, laughing, and tackled him to the ground, being careful not to crush him with my larger size, and kissed him passionately. Responding eagerly, he wrapped his arms around my neck and kissed me back. I broke away and he leaned up, stealing another quick kiss and trailing his lips down my neck.

"No Vegeta," I laughed, pushing him away gently, "We don't have time,"

He faked a sulk, getting to his feet with a dramatic sigh. I kissed his cheek in apology, wrapping his tail with mine.

"Come on, let's go catch breakfast," he muttered.

After much casting of lines, much refilling of bait, much tangling of fishing line, and daring each other to eat worms and slapping each other with fish; we managed to catch enough to feed two Saiyans, and I sent Vegeta to find firewood while I gutted the fish.

I hummed while I worked, selecting my favorite parts of some of my new songs and mixing them together into one melody.

Suddenly Vegeta came out of nowhere, panting, sweating and bleeding heavily from a scratch on one arm. I snapped to attention, rushing to his side.

"What happened?" I demanded; examining the cut that looked like it should have been a gash for all the blood it was losing. I reminded myself that Vegeta's blood had a hard time clotting and kicked myself mentally for sending him into the jungle alone.

"Looking for…. wood…. deep in jungle…" he panted, "snake…"

"Did you get bitten?" I interrupted.

"No…" he got some of his breath back so that he could speak in full sentences, "But it was poisonous, so I backed away as quick as I could; I didn't look where I was going and fell in a ravine; cut my shoulder…" he winced a little, "It wasn't deep so I didn't worry about it; but then it started bleeding like this and I got scared. I tried to fly back, but the canopy was too thick so I had to run."

"Hold on, I'll help you. Just let me get my hands clean," I briefly showed my hands that were still smeared with fish guts. I went back to the stream in which we'd caught the fish; thinking fast. The smell of blood would attract predators, it was too far to go back to the cabin and there was no energy signal to teleport there, and treating a wound in the middle of the jungle would require some improvisation... I dried my hands quickly and returned to the injured prince.

He was sitting on a fallen log, scowling in annoyance and fidgeting nervously at the same time as only he could, his eyes never leaving the rivulets of crimson that trickled down his arm.

"Some prince I am," he growled, "Can't even perform a simple task without hurting myself."

"It's not your fault," I consoled, examining the wound again at closer proximity, "You're reckless by nature, and you're not used to letting a scratch slow you down."

"Hn, it doesn't even hurt," he grumbled, "It's just the blood I'm worried about."

"Me too," I said distractedly, "We have to find some way to clean it or it'll get infected,"

"Why not use the stream?"

"A jungle stream? It'll do more harm than good on an open cut," I glanced around, trying to tell the different plants apart, looking for anything useful or medicinal.

"However," I began, getting up and looking closer at a tangle of underbrush, "We could use these for a poultice," I recognized some of the leaves as castor; which my grandpa Gohan had taught me how to use way back when.

"Hold still," I soothed as I sat next to the prince.

"What are you going to do?" his eyes darted nervously.

I showed him the leaves, which were dark greenish-red and separated into many sections like a maple leaf.

He sniffed, "Bunch of jungle plants. How can you even tell which is which?"

"There's more to life than fighting, you know. I used to live in the woods, I had to learn this stuff; now please _relax;_ it won't help if you're all tense."

Reluctantly, Vegeta let his shoulders loosen.

"This is only temporary anyway," I muttered, chewing the leaves into a mulch as I'd been taught while I cleared away the blood with a piece of my shirt that I'd torn off. Gently I spread the ground up paste over the cut and bound it in place with a banana leaf and another strip of cloth from my shirt.

"Now let's get back to the cabin before the smell of blood attracts anything unpleasant," I helped the prince to his feet and glanced at my handiwork, "It should hold 'til then."

Vegeta blinked, he seemed surprised that my methods had worked.

"Thank you, Kakarot," he said quickly, dipping his head and following me in the direction of the house.

"Hey, don't give me too much credit," I muttered, "The jungle did all the work,"

"Yeah, but it's because of the jungle that I got cut in the first place."

We walked in silence for a while.

"Is it always going to be like this?" Vegeta grumbled, "Until I die of cancer am I always going to be getting hurt like an idiot and you'll always have to be rescuing me like I'm a helpless child?"

"If it is going to be like that, I won't mind." I replied, "Except I don't like to see you get hurt."

Vegeta muttered something incoherent and fixed his eyes on the ground.

There was another moment of silence in which all that could be heard was the sound of putting one foot in front of the other.

"How'd you learn so much about the jungle, Kakarot?"

I considered the question, "It's not so much the jungle as it is the wild. I grew up roughing it and after my grandpa died, I had to fend for myself. Then I travelled the world with Bulma, searching for the dragonballs."

I stopped suddenly.

"Hang on. The dragonballs!" I whipped around and looked at Vegeta, "What if we used them to wish away your cancer?"

"Won't work," he muttered dejectedly without looking up.

"How do you know? Shouldn't we at least try?"

"You think I haven't tried?" he snapped, meeting my gaze with smoldering eyes, "I tried to wish away any possibility of the godsdamned disease, even the gene itself, _years_ ago. The dragon said it was beyond its power and that something as abstract as a person's genetics couldn't be altered by a wish."

"Oh. I guess you're right," I said sadly, "Otherwise people could wish away who their parents were, or change who they are by altering their DNA. I guess Shenron didn't want to mess with that or it could cause universal chaos."

Vegeta looked at me strangely, "I was about to try and explain the exact same thing to you, but you beat me to it. When did you suddenly get so smart?"

"I'm not," I protested, somehow unnerved by the idea. Everyone else said or thought I was an idiot, so that's what I'd based my life around. If I was super strong, but gentle and not so smart, I didn't scare my friends. An innocent man with a lot of power wasn't a real threat. _That's why Vegeta scares everyone so much,_ I realized, _He's almost as strong as I am, but he's brilliant too._

"Kakarot, why does everyone think you're so innocent?" Vegeta asked, then he answered himself, "Because you _let_ them. The Namek said something to you four years ago that's stuck with me. He said you're really only open with a few people. You only show your true self to those who are almost _exactly _as strong as you are, or those like the woman that are exceptionally smart. Why?"

I felt like he was trying to convince me of something, so I answered.

"Because people who aren't as strong will be afraid I'll lord over them and take over the universe," I shot him a meaningful look. Universal dominion seemed like something Vegeta would have done back in the day; further proving my theory that power plus wit equals fear.

"Exactly. You've surrounded yourself with weaker friends and only a few that could actually challenge you in a fight. To those who can, you show your true self so they won't have a reason to. To those who can't, you show a mask that will comfort them that you're not a threat."

"Is that a bad thing?" We reached the cabin and I opened the door for the prince, letting him in before me.

He flicked on the light switch and responded, "Only if you want it to be. If it makes you happy, don't change a thing."

_If it makes you happy, it can't be that bad._

Lyrics from the cover of the song I'd done came back to me. I realized how true they were; decisions regarding yourself really only affected _you _in the end, and if it was good enough for you; then it was good enough for everyone.

_If it makes you happy, why the hell are you so sad?_

The second part gave me pause and I stopped halfway through pulling off my shoe; something that was supposed to be as easy as breathing had a tendency to bother me. Why? Was I unhappy that only three or four people knew what I was really capable of? Disappointed that all my friends thought I was a simpleton that didn't have a clue?

Vegeta was watching me with an air of amusement.

"What?" I dropped the shoe I'd been taking off and led the prince to the kitchen to get the First Aid kit for his wound.

"I like to watch you think. I'll die before admitting it to anyone else, but it's kind of _cute._"

I blushed and rummaged through the cupboard to find what I was looking for. Opening the case and taking out a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, I considered his comment.

"Should I do it more often? Think about things, I mean?" I unscrewed the lid and poured some of the liquid onto a cotton ball.

Vegeta shrugged, wincing as the action moved his hurt shoulder.

"I think you should do whatever brings you the most satisfaction. As long as I get to go where you go, I'm happy."

I smiled, peeling off the poultice to examine the cut. It did me good to see Vegeta happy; it was a rare occurrence that wasn't quite so rare anymore.

"As long as I'm yours and you're mine, I wouldn't change a thing," he went on, sucking a breath between his teeth as I dabbed the peroxide cotton ball on the cut, cleaning it to prevent infection. At least the bleeding had slowed. I was afraid I would've had to cauterize it, and I had no _idea_ how to do that.

"You don't have to worry, Vegeta," I said steadily, wrapping a cloth bandage around the now clean cut and fastening it in place with a safety pin, "I'll be with you 'til death and beyond."

He smiled, seeing in my eyes how much I meant it, and brought my face down to his so he could kiss me. I breathed in his scent, enjoying the feel of his lips on mine, before breaking away when my stomach growled.

"We should probably eat something," I said sheepishly, "I haven't eaten all day and if you kiss me again I might just eat _you._"

He smirked, "Since you're incapable of cooking anything but fish, _I'll_ make breakfast." He paused and looked out the window at the sky, "Though I guess it'll have to be early dinner now."

I joined him in a laugh, wishing for the second time that day that I could just freeze time and remain in that happy moment forever.

TBC


	15. Part 14

**Love Has No Cure**

Part 14 – Family Ties And Fancy Ties

The week came and went in its usual way. On the last day on the island, Vegeta and I climbed to the top of one of the mountains in the middle of the jungle – this time bringing senzu in case one of us got hurt. It was a long climb, but we refused to fly; instead savoring the pleasant pull of laboring muscle and the satisfaction of having a goal in mind.

"What a view," Vegeta breathed as we reached the top. I followed his line of sight and agreed quietly, the sun was setting on the ocean, the water and sand were painted scarlet and gold and the jungle was shadowed in a dark, dusky green that made every leaf seem to stand out. The sound of the evening creatures rustling and humming below cast a summery air and the humid air wreathed around us like a blanket.

Vegeta leaned against my shoulder, curling his tail around mine. We stood like this for measureless time, watching the sun sink below the horizon until all that was left was a few streaks of ruby light lingering in the clouds. The atmosphere faded to a rich purple-blue and the first stars winked into the sky.

Then we flew back to the cabin to get some sleep; tomorrow we would head back home and face Bulma's impending wrath.

X

Rather than fly all the way back home, I teleported us there, following Goten and Gohan's ki and reappearing in the living room where both boys were sitting on the couch, talking about who-knows-what. Their eyes found us and they both stood up.

"Hi Dad! Hi Vegeta!" Goten greeted us happily, hugging me and – despite the prince's halfhearted protests – even catching Vegeta in his embrace as well.

Vegeta shrugged him off eventually, muttering something that sounded like "clingy ingrate".

Gohan just nodded to both of us and mumbled the usual greetings, looking rather awkward.

"How was your trip?" Goten asked eagerly, bouncing up and down like he was a hyperactive child again.

Vegeta looked like watching the teen's movement was making him dizzy and he put a hand on Goten's head, forcing him to stand still.

"Stop bouncing, you're giving me a headache," he grumbled; then he glanced at me before saying extremely quietly, "It was nice," and walking away.

"What's his deal?" Goten muttered, straightening his hair as if Vegeta had messed it up.

"Probably just tired," I said distractedly.I was a little worried too, but decided not to show it, "Everything go okay here, Gohan?"

Gohan nodded, "Yeah, Goten was a little angel. If angels had fangs, devil tails and unlimited resources of _evil_ energy, I mean."

I turned a falsely stern gaze on my youngest, "Goten, did you give your brother a hard time?"

Goten just hid a smirk behind his hand.

I rolled my eyes and followed wherever Vegeta had wandered off to.

Naturally, Bulma was a nightmare. The next day when Vegeta and I went over to Capsule Corp to pick up Trunks, she shouted the whole time about irresponsible, reckless Saiyans and how we left her to do all the work; and to be honest, I was reminded of ChiChi's shrieking. Trunks was at school at the moment, however, so we couldn't very well just grab him and run.

"Woman," Vegeta said quietly, his voice was even but he looked frustrated as hell, "Shut. Up."

Bulma stopped shouting, though she looked like she was ready to start up again once the shock of the prince's boldness had faded.

"Fine; but now you two have to do _me_ a favor in return for disappearing like that for a week,"

I muttered something that she couldn't possibly have heard.

"What was that, Goku?" she snapped.

"I said isn't saving the universe a dozen times enough of a favor?" I retorted, surprising even myself. Usually I would've just put a hand behind my head and said it was nothing, but I guess Vegeta was rubbing off on me.

Bulma stared. "I don't know what's gotten into either of you," she snapped, "But I have been working day and night trying to find a cure for Mr. Ego's supposedly incurable condition _and_ watching Trunks twenty-four-seven which isn't exactly easy –"

I cut her off, suddenly not in the mood for an argument, "You don't have to keep looking for what isn't there, Bulma; you're just wasting your time. Vegeta and I have already agreed that we're going to let the disease do what it will. And when he goes, I'll follow. We're not afraid of death."

Bulma stopped and looked at us, a thousand emotions flickering in her blue eyes.

"You both think this?" she asked in a hushed voice.

Vegeta nodded, "It's pointless to try and find a cure at this late stage anyway. Even if you did miraculously find it and figure out how it works, it won't work now. Now it's just a waiting game."

"What about Trunks? What about your sons, Goku?"

"Trunks and Goten already know," I said slowly, " Gohan will know soon enough, I just need to figure out how to tell him."

"We don't have that kind of time!" Bulma protested, "Vegeta could die tomorrow for all we know! Goku, how the _hell_ could you tell them their father is going to die too? Goten and Gohan have already lost their mother –"

"I know that," I stated, "But I can't let Vegeta go through this by himself. I can't let him be alone."

"So you're just going to kill yourself?" Bulma snapped, "Suicide is the coward's way out, Goku."

"I'm not running from anything," I said steadily, tail swishing, "I promised Vegeta we'd be together no matter what, and we can stay with each other forever in Otherworld. Besides, by all rights neither of us should even be alive, we've both died twice and now we're nothing but resurrected dead guys from the history books."

"And with us, the Saiyan scourge will at last disperse," Vegeta murmured wistfully, "As it should have years ago. Our race's sins will be forgiven and our debts will be paid in blood as the gods demand."

Bulma didn't say anything for a while.

"I can't believe this," she said eventually, stumbling into a chair and staring openly, "You're not even going to _try_ to solve this? I thought you two of all people wouldn't give up so easily!"

Vegeta's coal eyes flashed angrily, "Give up? Who said anything about giving up? If I wanted to quit, I would shoot a ki blast through my own heart and leave this world on my own terms. I've decided to forgo the '_coward's way out'_ to fight through this long enough to see that those I care about are seen to and that I don't leave this miserable mudball of a planet defenseless when I face my inevitable demise!"

"I think Vegeta's being brave," I put in, "Things that should be as easy as breathing take effort for him right now, and it's just going to get worse later on. He's willing to go through that to make sure all of _you_ aren't left with nothing after this is sorted out."

Bulma sighed, "I guess I can't stop you," she murmured, "But do _you_ really have to go too, Goku?"

I didn't give an inch, "Yes. I really do." And that allowed no argument.

X

"Do I really have to wear this ridiculous suit, Kakarot?" Vegeta growled, wrestling with his tie that looked like it was trying to strangle him.

"Hey, I don't make the rules, and Bulma will skin us both if we don't show up for her…." I hesitated, "What did she call it?... '_formal get-together'_?" I was having a hard enough time with my own tie, so I couldn't exactly help the prince.

"She's just looking for an excuse to humiliate us, Kakarot. I say we threaten to blast her house down if she makes us go."

"Oh, come on. It's not that bad. We can do this for her if she really wants us to."

Vegeta grimaced, "Could've at least put a hole in the stupid dress pants so my tail has some freedom. Damn idiot woman,"

"I'm with you there," I sighed, "Oh well. Hey, Gohan!" I raised my voice and my eldest popped in the doorway. He somehow managed to pull off the formal look with his own fancy attire. I sure as hell felt like an idiot in mine.

"Can you help Vegeta with his tie? At this rate, he'd going to singe it if he gets any more frustrated."

Vegeta opened his mouth to protest, but thought better of it and stopped trying to murder his tie.

"Sure," Gohan shrugged, "I can help you with yours too," I nodded my thanks and took a seat, already exhausted after the day's goings on.

"Hold still, Vegeta," Gohan muttered, "I can't adjust this if you're fidgeting like that,"

"I can't help it," Vegeta snarled, "I'm uncomfortable as hell in this monkey suit, I've got some bizarre combination of the woman's supplements and my body's deadly virus crap running through my veins right now and on top of it all I got no sleep last night and the crazy woman is making me go to what is sure to be just another humiliation to add to my long list of failures."

Gohan smirked, "You're so dramatic; you'd think the world was going to end just because the Prince of One Saiyan has to wear dress clothes."

Vegeta succumbed to muttering indignantly about his abused title and stood away quickly when Gohan finished with his tie. I had to admit the prince looked striking in a sleek, jet black suit with an equally black undershirt and –you guessed it – a black tie and gloves. Said prince had outright refused the woman's attempts to put me in anything but black as well, but my own suit had some white highlights here and there, like the gloves and undershirt, but I still felt like an overdressed fool; and I was itchy as all get out in the rough material.

Gohan straightened my own tie and left with a self-satisfied smirk and a wave. I felt like I'd been set up for some reason and felt in all my pockets in case Gohan had left a bomb in of them or something. I found a slip of paper in my top pocket.

"Cunning bastard," I grumbled fondly, unfolding it.

"What did the brat do?" Vegeta snickered, reading over my shoulder.

"Left me a note," I muttered, I skimmed over the writing and growled, "Oh, _hell _no. No way."

"He's making you play your guitar at the party," Vegeta smirked, "That'll be entertaining."

I sulked, "He can't _make_ me,"

"What was it you said? 'It's not that bad, you can do this for him if he really wants you to'." I glared daggers at the shorter Saiyan, _my own words used against me._

"That's different. All _you_ have to do is show up. If you want humiliation, stand in front of a crowd in this ridiculous getup, and try not to let your fingers slip while trying to please them all and not make an idiot of yourself the whole time."

Vegeta laughed, taking a step back from me and fixing me with his smokingly handsome smirk.

"For me, Kakarot? Would you do it for me?"

I growled teasingly and kissed his cheek, "Fine. I'll do it _for you_, Your Highness."

I just hoped I wouldn't sweat my fancy gloves off trying to please him if I _did_ do this for him.

TBC


	16. Part 15

**Love Has No Cure**

Part 15 – No Lasting Harm Done

"Where is this godsdamned thing taking place anyway?" Vegeta growled as we flew over the city with our sons.

"I have no idea," I admitted, I had figured it would be at Capsule Corp, but no one was there when we teleported there to get Trunks ready, and he'd said he didn't know either.

"The immature woman's making us play hide-and-seek," the prince muttered, streaking ahead. The frustrated display didn't have quite the same effect when he was dressed like he was going to a wedding.

"I think it's this way," Gohan spoke up, "The ki signatures of Piccolo, Tien, Krillin and Yamcha are all in one place; obviously we can't sense Bulma's ki very well because it's the same as every human's, so…"

I nodded, "That's why you're the brains of the operation, Gohan."

Gohan beamed and shot after the prince to redirect his destination. I adjusted the strap of the guitar hanging over my back, lost in thought. Somehow I'd have to tell Gohan, Piccolo and the others that Vegeta and I were going to die. _How the hell am I gonna do that?_

Fingering the leather shoulder strap, an idea came to me. It would take some improvisation and just the right timing, but it could work.

"Oh, Vegeta you look _adorable!_" Bulma shrieked as we stepped through the door. Vegeta scowled, straightening his wind-tossed hair so that it was in its usual gravity-defying state.

"Imbecile woman, I am a prince, not your stupid dress-up plaything!"

Bulma snickered and ushered us inside.

"Oh good, Goku, you brought your guitar. Are you going to play?" the blue-haired woman grinned.

I heaved a long-suffering sigh, "Apparently. Gohan left little room for negotiation."

_Though I guess I _do_ need the guitar for my idea..._

"That's great! It'll really liven up the party."

"What are we celebrating again?" Vegeta growled.

Bulma shot him a teasing look, "Do I need a reason?"

Vegeta got a glint of what looked like fear in his eyes, "Oh no, she's got that _look_ again…."

Goten and Trunks raced off to go annoy people and Gohan found Videl and started talking with her. Vegeta and I took in the scenery with the air of warriors sizing up an opponent; sure that we were going to be embarrassed indefinitely.

"Hey Goku, Vegeta, long time no see," a deep voice said. I turned to see Piccolo leaning against the wall, smirking. Somehow he'd managed to evade Bulma's dress code and was in his usual eggplant gi with his white cloak, though he wasn't wearing his turban and his bald, green head gleamed in the light.

Vegeta grumbled, "How come you don't have to wear one of these ridiculous monkey suits?"

"'Cause I'm not a monkey," the Namek laughed, "Unlike the rest of you."

The prince looked affronted, "The humans, maybe, but Kakarot and I are _Saiyan,_"

"Which are basically humans with monkey tails, Vegeta," Piccolo pointed out.

Vegeta scoffed and turned his back on the green one.

"Don't mind him, Piccolo. How've you been?" I tried to diffuse the tension between the two, none too successfully.

"Same old, same old," the Namek replied breezily, "Though I hear things have been _very_ unusual around here."

Vegeta turned a little and fixed the Namek with his steely black gaze, "What did you hear?"

"Nothing much, just that… oh, I don't know…. that you're going to _die,_ Vegeta?" the indifference in his voice was as fabricated as the anger in the prince's when he replied.

"That's none of your business, Green Bean. You've been spying on us,"

"Come on, Vegeta. It _is_ my business if my friend is dying," Piccolo said steadily.

Vegeta fell silent; he seemed to be wrestling with himself. Then all the anger drained from his face and he dropped his gaze to the floor.

"It's true," he said quietly, then he looked up, "But I won't be going alone."

I laid a gloved hand on the prince's shoulder, trying to tell him without words that he didn't have to say more than he wanted to. He glanced at me, then back at the Namek.

"I know," Piccolo nodded, Vegeta looked like he was about to accuse the Namek of spying again, but Piccolo cut him off, "It's written all over your face, Goku. I don't need to eavesdrop to know something that obvious."

I cracked a small smile, "I'll miss you, Piccolo."

The Namek looked at us for a few seconds; then broke into a smile that showed his fangs, "Enough. I grow weary of this morbid conversation. This is supposed to be a party; let's not damper the mood with this talk of death."

Vegeta straightened a little, "He's right," he muttered, "I'm hungry, Kakarot; let's get something to eat."

I tipped my head to Piccolo as an invitation to join us, but he just smirked, "Have fun; Namekians don't eat anything but water, remember?"

I wasn't sure if I liked the glimmer of malicious amusement in his eyes when he said '_have fun'_.

After about an hour of the usual conversational nothings and ridiculously fancy – and ridiculously small portions of – food, and other forms of mingling; frankly I got bored and just sat on the railing of the balcony, swilling whatever drink Bulma had thrust into my hand around in slow circles. I had no idea where Vegeta had wandered off to, but the building was full of people to keep an eye on His Highness, so I didn't worry too much. Bored or not, it was nice to not have to be constantly checking on him and actually relax for once.

It was night and there was no moon in the sky, no starlight, just flat, black sky above. I sat alone for a while, reveling in the quiet and the warm breeze ruffling my hair, until Gohan found me and leaned against the railing beside me, crossing his arms and resting his chin on them.

"Nice night for a party," he muttered eventually.

I nodded assent; I had let my tail loose from the uncomfortable black pants it had been tucked inside a while ago, and now it was flicking carelessly around the metal bars of the railing.

"Videl's talking with the other girls, I don't even know half of them," my eldest continued, I half-listened to his chatter, but I only responded with noncommittal sounds of agreement or contemplation.

Then Gohan hesitated, as if he was hiding something, tapping his fingers against the railing for a moment before he said slowly, "Dad, Bulma hit Vegeta,"

"Hn," I said without interest. Then what he said registered and I shot to my feet.

"W-wait – _what?_" I shouted.

"Yeah, I don't know why but she was really mad."

"Why didn't you say something before?" I demanded, grabbing him by his upper arms and shaking him.

Gohan winced, "It was like talking to a brick wall, Dad. I said it three times."

I let go of him to slap myself in the forehead.

"Sorry, Gohan," I apologized, putting two fingers to my forehead and following Vegeta's ki.

He was in one of the hallways, leaning against the wall with his usual indifference, but his eyes were downcast and smoldering, and a dark streak of a bruise cut sideways across his cheek. He looked up at me with a scowl.

"What happened?" I asked carefully, "Gohan said Bulma hit you,"

The prince grit his teeth, "She did,"

"Why?" My tail lashed; _why the hell would she do that?_

"I don't know," he said stiffly, tightening his grip on his own arms with black gloved fingers.

"Vegeta, I know you well enough to tell when you're lying."

The prince's scowl deepened and he turned away from me.

"Get lost, Kakarot." he growled.

I blinked, he was really upset. _Why? What the hell happened?_

"Vegeta, tell me what happened." I said gently, placing a hand on his shoulder. The white glove stood out starkly against the black of his attire.

He shook off the hand and took a step away from me, "I said get lost,"

I didn't budge. "I'm not going anywhere,"

He whipped around, anger flaring in his eyes, "You would disobey your prince?"

"If it meant helping you; you're hurt." I reached out to touch the mark on his cheek and he slapped my hand away.

"Your stubbornness will be your undoing, Kakarot," he snarled, reminding me very much of his old self, back when he purged planets for fun and killed without mercy.

"Vegeta, look at me," I said forcefully; for the first time ever, I was afraid of him. I felt like I didn't know him anymore.

He met my gaze slowly, his jet eyes burning like live coals.

"What happened here? Why did Bulma strike you?"

The prince's breath hitched a little and he looked away.

"She called me a coward," he said in a venomous voice.

"Why?" I pressed.

"Because I wouldn't take the stupid supplement she tried to stab me with!" he snapped.

"She's still giving you steroids when I told her not to?" I asked, confused. I thought she'd stopped injecting the prince with human treatments weeks ago. Then again, Vegeta might have mentioned something about that a while ago and I just hadn't been listening.

"She has been for days now," the prince growled, "Today I told her she was just killing me faster with those damn needles and she said I was a coward,"

"Then what happened?"

"I yelled at her, I said she didn't respect the Prince of All Saiyans and that she didn't know shit about healing."

"And then she hit you?"

"No. She tried to force me to obey her and I –" he broke off, the anger fading from his face quickly, along with the color, "I g-got scared. I knew I wouldn't be able to stop her in my condition – I didn't feel well today, I couldn't even power up - so I did the only thing I could. I snarled at her and bared my teeth, trying to scare her away. It was just an empty threat; she knew I wouldn't… I _couldn't _actually hurt her, but…" he took a deep breath, "She screamed and slapped me across the face. Called me a vicious animal and ran away."

I winced; that had to hurt. Not just her slapping him, but the insult.

"Oh," I breathed, "Vegeta, it wasn't your fault."

"I know," he snapped, then he sighed, leaning against the wall again and letting his head fall back against it, "I know it wasn't. But… she was right. I _am_ just an animal."

"No you're not, you're a person," I said steadily, "And she was wrong to try and force you. I already told her not to continue with the human treatments and she didn't listen. If I had only _been there_ –"

"Why weren't you?" he asked eventually, looking up.

"Because I'm a selfish idiot and I thought I could trust everyone to leave you alone for all of two seconds," I grumbled.

"Why does _everything_ have to end in crisis?" the prince muttered.

"It's not a crisis," I sighed, "I'm just glad no one was seriously hurt." I flashed him a glance to show I meant him above all.

"Yeah but now I look like I was hit in the face with the business end of a baseball bat,"

I laughed because it was such a ridiculous image and such an accurate description.

"Or that you lost a fight with a stick of frozen salami," I added.

That elicited a chuckle from the prince.

"Come on, Kakarot. Don't you have a song to play?" he stood up straight and stuck his hands in his pockets, "Besides, I want to flaunt my new bruise at the woman."

I laughed with him as we headed back to the party, glad there was no lasting harm done.

TBC


	17. Part 16

**Love Has No Cure**

Part 16 – How To Say Goodbye

I didn't want to stand in front of people like I did at the restaurant four years ago; and technically Gohan said I had to _play_, he didn't say I had to _perform_, so Vegeta and I perched on the rafters above the dining hall of the building. I liked the height advantage – probably my battle instincts automatically looking for any edge I could get – and the fact that no one could gawk at me, and I tuned up _Ongaku_, taking my own sweet time; constantly watching Vegeta. He was slouched against one of the beams casually, wrapping his tail around it for support; his midnight eyes on me.

"Any requests?" I asked with a smirk, tightening one of the knobs on the side of _Ongaku's_ head.

Vegeta tilted his head to the side, a contemplative look on his face.

"How about the first song you ever played for me?"

I blinked, "'_Save Me'?_ Isn't that one a little harsh?"

"No, the other one,"

"Oh, you mean '_Your Words',_" I strummed once to test the sound, decided I didn't like it, and went back to twisting the knobs and tightening the strings.

Vegeta nodded slowly, the bruise Bulma had left on his cheek catching the light.

"Sure, start with the deep, emotional ones," I muttered, "Not exactly an easy request, Vegeta."

"Well, then how about '_If It Makes You Happy'_?" the prince smirked.

"No, I played that one too recently. Besides, Gohan's already heard it and I'm guessing he wants something new." I _did_ want to start with something lighter, happier, but I also wanted to play something fresh.

"Alright then, surprise me," Vegeta grinned, folding his arms behind his head and leaning back, "Something from your new album."

"It's not an _album,_" I protested.

"Whatever you call it then,"

Muttering halfheartedly, I plucked each string to test them again. The sound was perfect.

"There, all set."

"How are they going to hear you all the way down there?" Vegeta asked coolly.

"Bulma set up a sound system," I tapped the side of my shirt collar where a miniscule microphone awaited my activation, "I told her not to worry about it, but she insisted. She said it was more professional. Now be quiet, or they'll hear you too."

Peeling off my gloves that would only get in the way, I flicked the side of the little microphone chip to turn it on and set _Ongaku_ in a comfortable place in my lap.

I had expected it to be deafening being this close to the source of the sound, but Bulma proved her aptitude as an inventor yet again when I played the first note. It sounded no different than it had before, but the sound carried all around the room as if there were speakers in every corner. I smirked, _genius, Bulma._

Instantly the chatter and general background noise died down as people stopped what they were doing to listen. Some of the people present were Z fighters and people I knew, but most were Bulma's associates; I had no idea who they were, nor did I know anything about them.

Ignoring the usual unease, I led _Ongaku_ through the opening sequence of one of my new songs called "_If We Were Angels"_. The melody was nothing special; it was the lyrics that were the heart and soul of the song. When my voice joined the music, I was surprised yet again at Bulma's invention. It was almost as if I was wearing headphones that cut off all the sound in the room except me and the guitar, which really improved my focus. I let my eyes close like I usually did and just let the music guide me.

"_If we were angels, if we had wings_

_You and I, we'd fly_

_Shatter the dreams of yesterday_

_And take what's yours and mine._

_If we were angels, if we were the gods_

_The world would hold its breath_

_And you and I'd be beautiful_

_Free from the chains of death."_

I didn't even stop to think until the last note left the strings and I flicked the microphone to turn it off and sat back, glancing below the rafters at the group of people mingling down there. Some were glancing around as if trying to discern from where the music had come. Some were talking casually, and still others were clapping. I looked up at the prince across from me.

"Very nice, Kakarot," He said earnestly. I basked in the compliment and the honesty in his eyes; grateful for his approval.

"I was going to do one more, but it's not as cheerful," I muttered, "It's a little sad,"

"Why play it then?"

"It's kind of an obligation," I admitted.

Vegeta narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean by that?"

"I have to tell Gohan and the others that I'm leaving them, and I thought the best way to tell them would be through song. I've been writing lyrics in my head all night."

The prince sighed, and waved a hand at me to continue, "Commence," he mumbled.

I smiled at his use of the sophisticated word and turned back to the guitar, turning the microphone back on.

"This song is for my family, and my friends," I said into the mic., knowing who was listening and that they'd understand the message.

The first note was gentle and it wavered in the air for a moment before the lyrics jumped in.

"_Lend me your ears for just a moment_

_It's never easy to say goodbye_

_If you'll listen I can tell you_

_I can tell you why."_

I could almost feel Gohan's confusion; Krillin's questioning glance and Yamcha's wide, blinking eyes. I went on, but my voice shook a little.

"_Not by choice, but I have to leave you_

_I have to go away_

_But stay and listen and I'll tell you_

_Why it has to be this way."_

I had to swallow hard before continuing, knowing I was hurting them hurt me in its own way, but I had to do this.

"_I've been gone before, and you've lived without me_

_You've learned to stand on your own_

_I'll always be with you, in thought and spirit_

_You'll never be alone."_

I opened my eyes long enough to look at Vegeta, the compassion and understanding in his eyes was enough to make me blink away my doubt, _I'm doing his for him, because I love him more than life itself._

"_Goodbye, I have to go; it's time for me to leave._

_I might leave today; I might not return_

_But you'll learn to get by without me._

_Goodbye, I can't stop now; I can't turn back this time_

_I might leave tomorrow; I might not get to say_

_Say goodbye a second time."_

When the song ended a few verses later, I switched off the mic., feeling like I was running away from something for some reason.

"You did the right thing in telling them," Vegeta consoled, "It was going to happen either way, better to let them down easy than have them find out after it's too late to explain."

I nodded in agreement, still feeling like I was betraying them; like I was selfish for leaving them.

"Dad, what was all that about?" Gohan asked as soon as Vegeta and I reappeared in the main hall.

"Sorry I couldn't look you in the eyes when I said goodbye," I murmured, not meeting his gaze, "I didn't want to see you get hurt."

"What are you talking about? Why are you leaving? When?" my eldest demanded, shaking my shoulders forcefully.

"I don't know when," I admitted, "But I can tell you why,"

"Why, Dad?" the hurt in Gohan's voice tore me apart, "Why are you leaving _again_?"

"Because," I whispered, "Vegeta's going to die, and I c-can't let him go through that alone."

I was aware of the half -dozen sets of scrutinizing eyes fixed on me. Gohan, Vegeta, Piccolo, Tien, Yamcha, and Krillin.

"But… Goku…." Krillin said shakily, "Why?"

"Because I love him," I said steadily, meeting all of their eyes unapologetically.

I'd probably heard every love song ever written over the course of these five long years, I owned enough CD's to cover the walls and I'd memorized the lyrics to nearly a hundred songs in addition to writing my own. In nearly every love song it said love hurts. I'd learned the truth in those seemingly innocent words long ago, love really did hurt.

TBC


	18. Part 17

**Love Has No Cure**

Part 17 – Give Or Take

The rest of the night went by in a blur. People kept shooting glances at me when they thought I wasn't looking, and my Saiyan hearing picked up more than a few whispers, but I didn't worry about that. What drew my attention for the remainder of the party was that Vegeta kept pressing the heel of his hand to his temple as if his head was hurting again. I asked him multiple times if he wanted to go home, but he'd just shake his head and mutter something to distract me. Still, I kept an eye on him and noticed that though he'd mentioned that he was hungry before, he didn't touch the food Bulma offered. I suspected that he was scared that Bulma's supplements would make him throw up again if he ate anything.

Trunks hovered worriedly around his father too, he was trying to be subtle, but I think Vegeta noticed because his eyes kept darting around as though searching out his son's presence.

"Are you sure you don't want to go home?" I asked for the tenth time when the prince withdrew from his conversation with Piccolo to lean against the wall and catch his breath, looking exhausted.

"I said I'm fine, Kakarot," he growled, but the harsh tone didn't reach his eyes. I could almost read the loop of thought in his mind as if he were whispering it aloud; '_I'm not weak, I _won't_ be weak, I can do this, I'm not weak….'_

"Okay, Vegeta," I said gently, "Whatever you're most comfortable with,"

He graced me with a grateful glance, but still shook his head, "It's fine; I'm just a little tired."

I narrowed my eyes a fraction of an inch. For anyone else, I would have just laughed it off and walked away, but for Vegeta these days _'a little tired'_ usually meant a lot more than he let it.

I leaned against the wall next to him, letting my eyes examine him. He looked fine, to be honest, he wasn't pale like before, and he was giving off his usual aura of heat and power, his eyes were alert and depthless like normal. _Maybe he really is just a little tired. He seems perfectly okay otherwise…. well, about as okay as a cancer patient can be…._

At last, people started to leave. I had Gohan round up Trunks and Goten and meet me and Vegeta so we could head home. Vegeta said nothing the entire time, but the furrow between his eyebrows suggested that his headache had worsened.

We flew in relative silence, though Trunks and Goten kept whispering back and forth and jostling each other like hyperactive children. I suspected they'd been guzzling sugar at the party and were all jittery as a result. I smirked; they were getting no sympathy from me when they got down from their sugar high.

I kept an eye on Vegeta; his eyes were fixed on the horizon, stoic and silent. Most people would say that was normal for the prince, but there was something about the lowness of his ki that kept me on edge. I'd seen him fall from the sky and bleed like every bone in his body had shattered, I'd seen him go from reprimanding his son to passing out on the floor in an instant, I'd seen him vomit after taking a bite of an apple, I'd seen him bruise horribly just by being slapped by Bulma…. so I didn't rule anything out.

We landed in front of the Capsule house we now called home and Gohan ushered the kids inside, shooting me a meaningful glance that said '_go talk to him'_.

I nodded to show I understood and cornered Vegeta before he could go inside.

"What do you want, Kakarot?" he muttered, but the question lacked the usual teasing spite.

"Something's wrong, isn't it? You can tell me, you know," I said carefully.

The prince didn't say anything, just watched his shiny black boots as if studying them.

"No matter what you do or say, Vegeta, I won't ever think any less of you," I pressed, _why won't he talk to me?_

"It's nothing," he said shortly, "I just need some sleep."

He tried to walk past me but I barred his way.

"That won't work on me, Vegeta. Tell me what's wrong; you've been like this all day,"

He still didn't give an inch.

"Dammit, Vegeta, what is wrong with you? I thought we could trust each other now,"

Still nothing.

"Vegeta, answer me! This is ridiculous, I thought you'd changed! I thought you could actually _talk_ to people now!"

His eyes met mine for a fraction of a second, his face deathly pale, and I had a moment to see the confusion and utter fear in them before he crumpled to the ground.

X

My mind wouldn't shut up. The same string of thought kept running through it, taunting me, mocking me, as I scooped up the prince's fragile form and rushed inside; shaking uncontrollably.

_What if today was the day? What if he died and the last thing he heard was you yelling at him? What if he was trying to tell you all day and you were just too stupid to listen? What kind of protector are you? Can't even take care of the one person that actually needs it; now he might be gone forever and all you did was accuse him of being a stubborn, antisocial prick._

Biting back a sob, I laid the prince on the couch and looked him over. He was pale as a corpse – I shuddered at the analogy – and trembling as if he were freezing, but other than that, he looked like he could have been asleep. At least he wasn't dead… yet.

_Don't you dare! Don't even think like that!_

In searching for it, I found he had a pulse; it was shallow and slow, but at least it was there. Grabbing Goten's blanket from the back of the couch, I laid it over the prince's frail form, trying to get him warm again. I pressed a hand to his forehead, feeling his temperature. He was literally drenched in cold sweat and shivering, his skin clammy.

When Vegeta had passed out before, I'd known exactly what to do; I'd kept a cool head and got him back to normal fairly easily with Trunks's help. Now I felt like all the healing knowledge my grandpa Gohan had forced me time and time again to remember had deserted me. In fact, I felt as if my mind were completely blank; to the point where I doubted if I even remembered my own name.

Salvation arrived in the form of Gohan, who hurried into the room and knelt at Vegeta's side.

"I felt his ki drop, Dad, what happened?" he glanced over his shoulder at me; then stood up slowly. His eyes scanned mine, and for some reason, I couldn't reply, just stood there staring blankly at my unconscious lover on the sofa.

My son's expression didn't even change as he slapped me across the face.

I blinked and looked at him, about to rebuke him for the small act of violence, but he cut me off.

"Snap out of it! What the hell happened, Dad?"

In a snap, my mind started up again and I could think somewhat clearly.

"Vegeta…." After the word left my mouth everything came rushing back, "I was worried about him…. I tried to get him to tell me what was wrong. He wouldn't answer me, so I yelled at him, and he just…. he looked at me for a moment and then he collapsed. I didn't even…. I couldn't even…. I thought…He was so cold…."

"You thought you lost him," Gohan said matter-of-factly, "Well, you just might if you don't help him now."

"I…. I c-can't remember what I'm supposed to do!" I stammered.

"Dad…" Gohan said slowly, gently, "What did you do when I had the flu when I was ten and I got the chills and had a fever?"

That was easy, "I warmed up some towels, and kept giving you fluids and…." I stopped, "Oh,"

"Yeah_,_" Gohan smirked, "Get your head on straight and go heat up some towels, okay?"

Some, but not a lot, of the color came back to Vegeta's face after we got him warmed up. He was still soaked in sweat, but there wasn't a lot we could do about that right now. I stood back to look over my handiwork. Swaddled in blankets and hot towels, Vegeta looked frail and small, his brow still creased in discomfort and fear. His eyes were moving around under their lids as if he were dreaming, and his breathing was so thin that I had to check more than once to make sure it was still there.

"That's all we can do," I said softly, standing back next to Gohan.

"Now what?" he asked just as quietly.

"We wait," I replied, "Stay with him for a second, I'm going to get changed," I indicated the guitar still over my shoulder and the suit I still wore. Bulma was going to have a fit about all the wrinkles.

"Sure," Gohan smiled. He'd already gotten changed and was sporting a Capsule Corp T-shirt and sweatpants, "Get some dry clothes for Vegeta too, for when he wakes up."

I nodded and walked away, keeping my eyes on Vegeta until I couldn't keep him in sight and keep moving away at the same time.

Feeling much better in fresh clothes; I went back to Vegeta, with some clean things for him to wear slung over my arm. Gohan was kneeling beside the sofa again, his eyes fixed on the prince.

He waved me over and I crouched next to him, asking with my eyes.

"He's coming to," my eldest son said quietly.

I blinked rapidly and focused on the prince. Said prince's eye twitched and he mumbled something that sounded like '_please_…_more time'._ I felt my heart twist with pity; he had probably thought he was dying too. He tensed and his eyes fluttered open, instantly moving to me.

"Kakarot," he breathed; then he winced and tried valiantly to sit up.

"Lie down, Vegeta," Gohan ordered steadily, "You need to rest,"

Vegeta's eyes snapped to the demi-Saiyan and he sighed, lying back with a scowl.

"Well this is a fine mess," he muttered.

"You're going to be okay, Vegeta," I said quietly, trying to convince myself as much as him.

He blinked and looked away, "No I'm not," he said miserably, "It's only going to get worse from here."

"How do you know?" Gohan asked.

"I can tell," he sighed, "I've had this coming for a long time, and my body's just going to get weaker as time passes. There's this deep-seated ache in my bones that won't go away."

"How long do you think you have?" the question leapt unbidden from my lips before I could stop it.

He looked at me with a dark, dark look.

"I can't say for sure."

"A guess?" Gohan asked.

There was a lot of tension in the air before he said almost too quietly for us to hear, "A week at most,"

Shock etched every line in Gohan's face, but I just dropped my gaze to the floor. I'd figured as much, judging from the level of Vegeta's ki. That's why I'd been so afraid that I'd lost him today. Apparently, he knew it too. His time was almost up. _Our_ time was almost up.

Gohan's eyes found mine and he said softly, "I don't want you to die, Dad."

I hesitated, aware of Vegeta's eyes on me, before reaching out and hugging my son.

"It'll be okay, Gohan." I said with as much conviction as I could.

He sniffled and nodded into my shoulder, "I know," he moved away and stood up, "I know," he repeated, sorrow leaden in his eyes, before walking away.

Vegeta was watching me with what looked like guilt.

"None of this is your fault," I said honestly, running my fingers through his hair gently.

His eyes didn't leave my own, beautiful and ebon as always, but tinged with regret.

"What's wrong?" I asked quietly, kissing his forehead to sooth him, trying to ease the furrow of worry there.

"All you do is give; Kakarot," he murmured, "You never take anything, you give and give until you have nothing left for yourself. I hate myself for making you do this. It's selfish, and you deserve more. You deserve more than me."

I looked at him for a long time, clasping his smaller hand in my bigger one.

"Vegeta, you give me all I could ever want. Just being in your presence is a gift. I wouldn't trade these last five years for anything. I wouldn't trade this _lifetime_ for anything in the universe. Look at me," I took his face in my hands and tethered his gaze to mine; "I love you, Vegeta. And if I can even give you _half_ of what you give me, I'll be happy."

The prince opened his mouth to speak, but whatever he'd been about to say was silenced as I touched my lips to his in an innocent kiss.

"Get some sleep, Vegeta." I whispered, caressing his face before standing up to leave.

"Kakarot," Vegeta said quickly, almost frantically. I looked down at him and he looked up at me, "Stay with me… please?"

I was surprised as always at his use of the word 'please', and nodded mutely, glad there was enough room on the couch for two. At his invitation, I slipped under the blanket swiftly to avoid letting the cold air in and Vegeta rested his head on my shoulder, purring softly.

"When you feel up to it, I have some more comfortable clothes for you," I murmured, stroking his hair.

"Kakarot, the only way you could make me more comfortable is if you knocked me out with a sledgehammer," Vegeta smirked.

I purred and snuggled up to him.

"Goodnight, Vegeta."

He sighed, and I could almost hear him banishing worries and questions and letting his mind relax, "Goodnight, Kakarot."

TBC


	19. Part 18

**Love Has No Cure**

Part 18 – A Disease Called Love

I woke up the next morning to the sound of Vegeta purring. He was all curled up with his head between my neck and shoulder, his breath hot on my face. I smiled fleetingly, stroking my tail along his shoulder and side; he was burning up under the thick black cloth of his suit, and the scent of fever was in the air. Grandpa Gohan's teachings said that with all that sweat he'd catch a chill, and I needed to get him in some dry clothes.

Sitting up, flicking my hair out of my face, I shook the prince's shoulder gently to rouse him. He winced and opened bleary eyes, his brow dampened with sweat.

"Vegeta, I have to get you in some warm clothes," I said slowly, enunciating each word to be sure he heard me in his likely confused state.

He squinted at me, then shivered and nodded shakily.

Getting up and picking up the sweatpants I'd gotten for him yesterday, I helped him ease out of his heavy black dress pants and pulled the new clothing on over his sweltering skin. Then I gently undid the buttons of his suit coat and took it off as well as the black undershirt, careful to untie his tie first so as not to strangle him. Then I pulled the clean T-shirt on him and laid him back down. He curled back up under the blankets and instantly fell asleep.

_My poor little prince,_ I thought sadly as I gathered the discarded garments and hooked them over my arm, leaving so Vegeta could sleep in peace.

Tossing the black clothing in the laundry, knowing Gohan was better at it than me and that he'd handle it later; I stretched, picked up my guitar and headed downstairs to the basement. Vegeta and I had been unaware that the house even _had_ a basement until about a year ago. No one could think of any use for it, and one random day I'd decided to practice with _Ongaku_ down there, and found out the walls were soundproofed like in Bulma's lab. Ever since then, the basement had become, in Gohan's words, my "studio", and he'd set up all kinds of recording equipment and sound foam and other stuff that I had _no idea_ how to use; but I was flattered by the effort.

I plugged _Ongaku_ into the stereo system, popped in a few CDs, hit shuffle, slipped on some headphones, and revved the guitar up. I flew through the first few songs by _The Cure_ and _Muse_, not even thinking about it, just listening to the music playing and trying to match it. I forced my mind to be quiet for once and just got lost in the music like I used to years ago.

Just when I was getting in the zone in a _Muse_ song called "_Time Is Running Out_", I felt a ki signature outside my field of vision and I whipped the headphones off, my eyes snapping open. Gohan was sitting on the stairs, watching me with what looked like admiration on his face.

"Hey Gohan," I greeted him, slinging _Ongaku's _strap off my shoulder and setting the guitar down.

"What were you playing just now?" he asked interestedly.

I held up the CD case, "Some stuff by _Muse,_"

The demi tilted his head to one side, "Mom gave you that CD five years ago, right?"

I blinked; _how the hell did he remember that? _I _don't remember that!_

"I guess," I nodded, setting down the case and walking over to him.

"Vegeta's still sleeping," he went on, jerking a thumb in the general direction of the prince upstairs.

"I know, I've been keeping an eye on his ki," I said, sitting next to him on the stairs.

Gohan's gaze wandered; and he leaned over and picked up a sheet of paper that had fallen on the floor.

His eyes scanned the sheet for a moment before I snatched it away.

"'_A Disease Called Love'?" _he asked, quoting the title scrawled at the top of the paper.

"It's nothing," I muttered, "Just something I wrote a while ago."

"It's about Vegeta, isn't it?"

I shot him a look, "_All _my songs are about Vegeta,"

"Really?" he looked genuinely interested.

I counted on my fingers silently in my head.

"Yeah, I think just about all of them have at least _something_ to do with him."

Gohan laughed, "Well, I guess that title's pretty legit then,"

I narrowed my eyes, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Love really is like a disease for you, isn't it?"

"Isn't it kind of like that for everyone?" I blinked, confused. Was I mistaken on the definition of love _again_?

Gohan actually considered the question, "I think love's a little different for each person. I'm not entirely sure what it's like for you, but for me it's like everything happy in the world is rolled together when I look at Videl."

I shrugged, "I've already tried to explain it more times than I can count. But all I know is it's the best and the worst thing in the world at the same time. It hurts more than any wound and yet I'd do anything to keep it that way."

We were silent for a while.

Gohan smiled and stood up, "Thanks for talking with me, Dad. I've gotta go pick up Goten and Trunks from school, but I'll be back."

"I guess I'll stay here with Vegeta then."

He nodded quickly and walked up the stairs two at a time.

"Bye!" he called over his shoulder.

I waved in return and let my eyes drop to the sheet of paper in my hand. I stood and laid it carefully on the shelf that held all my other lyric sheets, it must have fallen off and that's why Gohan found it on the floor.

Maybe someday I'd play it for Vegeta, but it didn't seem very likely considering how much time we had left.

TBC


	20. Part 19

**Love Has No Cure**

Part 19 – Deteriorating

It was quiet in the house. No one was here but Vegeta and me, and the prince was sleeping soundlessly on the couch. I sat on the arm of the sofa, looking down at my beautiful prince, memorizing his face and watching the slow rise and fall of his breathing. I had no wish to do anything else but watch him, and for once no one was making me do anything else; so I took a moment to enjoy the quiet, the time alone with the prince even if he wasn't aware that I was there.

I was still worried about him; something was gnawing at me inside, telling me something was very wrong. I couldn't think what; he seemed okay except for the fever. I tapped my tail against the side of the couch, thinking hard. _He'd been quiet, but that's normal for him. He doesn't seem enthusiastic about anything, like he's depressed, but I guess that's to be expected; he knows he's going to die. He seems tired and achy, but again, no surprise there. He hasn't had much of an appetite…._

I sat up straight. _When was the last time he ate?_ I counted backwards in my head, thinking back to when I'd last seen the prince consume food. When I reached the day I remembered I tallied the days in my head. _That can't be right, he's Saiyan, there's no way he could go over a week without food…_ I counted again, but there it was. He hadn't shown any physical evidence of malnutrition, but then again I hadn't really seen him without a shirt in a long time. I didn't count today when I'd changed him out of his suit; I hadn't been paying attention to anything but his fever.

_What if….?_ I leaned over and rolled back the comforter to look at his chest. His sweat-soaked T-shirt clung to his skin, and I bit back a gasp to see that I could nearly count every one of his ribs. The supplements Bulma was forcing into him must be the only thing keeping him from starving. _Why didn't I notice before? Why didn't he say something?_

Pulling the blanket back over the prince, I leaned back against the back of the couch and took a deep breath, pondering. It had only been a week, but for a Saiyan that was a long time to go without proper nutrition. And now that I thought about it, whenever he had eaten in the past it hadn't been much. Silently, I cursed the disease eating my lover alive from the inside with every fiber of my being. I also cursed my uselessness; I was left with no course of action from here. Short of forcing food down his throat, there was absolutely _nothing_ I could do for him.

What had Vegeta said yesterday? That now it was just a waiting game? I bit my lip. I had no knowledge of this disease and therefore no knowledge of how to help the prince, I didn't know if I even _could._ Now all I could do was be there for him, so he didn't have to wait alone.

I had to wonder what would have happened if Vegeta and I had never gotten together. If ChiChi hadn't died, or if he and Bulma had stayed together, or both, what would have happened then? Would Bulma have been able to put up with the demands of a sick - and then death-bound - prince? Or – and this thought taunted me with its possibility – would she with her brilliant mind have been able to catch the symptoms early and stopped this whole mess before it started?

But I digress. Regardless, I had worried and fretted myself crazy by the time Gohan showed up with the boys. Goten was in a conversation with Trunks, but as soon as he stepped through the door he shushed his older friend and made a gesture at the sleeping Vegeta that implied silence.

"Hi Dad," he whispered as he passed me, "How's Vegeta?"

"Not too good," I murmured honestly, nodding at Trunks as he followed Goten.

Gohan stopped beside me and roved his eyes over Vegeta's face.

"He doesn't look much better," the demi said in a whisper, "If anything he looks worse,"

I nodded mutely, making sure the boys were upstairs before I responded, "I did all I could for him, he's still got a fever and he's malnourished; I don't know if there's anything anyone can do for him."

"There will be, when he wakes up," my son said quietly but with conviction.

"What if he doesn't –" I began, but he cut me off.

"Don't say that. Don't even _think _it."

So passed that day; nothing else of interest happened, and the prince slept through the whole day and the whole night. He was up and about the next day however, but he did very little and said even less. I tried to get him to eat something, but he said he wasn't hungry. And whenever the light made his ribs stand out starkly against his frame, whenever he denied any form of food or muttered that his head was hurting him, I was torn between wanting to hit something out of frustration and wanting to break down and cry.

And so a second day passed. Vegeta's fever returned the following day, but it wasn't so bad that he couldn't sit up and talk a little. I even got him to drink a glass of orange juice to boost his Vitamin C intake; but it was a far cry from the nutrition level a full-grown Saiyan needed. Goten and Trunks had gone to Capsule Corp to visit Bulma for a few days; and Gohan stayed in his room almost the whole day, claiming he had to study. I think he just couldn't bear to see the prince wasting away; a constant reminder of what he himself was soon to lose. I knew how he felt, I hated to see Vegeta suffer; but I couldn't escape behind a textbook, I had promised over and over to be there for the prince, and I had to stay true to my word.

The third day began in the usual way, and it was quiet again. Gohan had gone to Videl's for a visit, and Vegeta silent for almost the whole day; I think all and all he might have said a whopping three sentences total. I didn't feel much like talking either, but I wished he'd say something just to reassure me that he was still in there somewhere. I got him to swallow a few mouthfuls of the soup Gohan had made the day before, but the meager amount of food didn't stay down long and the prince outright refused to try to eat anything else afterwards.

I felt like I was just going through the motions of each day. The fourth day was actually worth recounting, but not because it was a happy day.

Gohan, Goten and Trunks were all still out of the house, and the prince and I were alone again; we sat together on the couch, trying to soak up the moment of silence and the lack of crisis and maybe, _maybe_, forget about the world for just that one stolen moment.

Vegeta fell asleep against my shoulder and I carried him to bed, not wanting him to have to sleep on the couch again. I laid down next to him, thinking to myself about everything from the texture of the prince's tail fur to the mysteries of the universe. I wondered why in such a limitless cosmos we worried about such little things. I wondered what I considered to be a little thing. For some, _life_ could seem like a little thing that could be thrown away and ended at the drop of a hat, and I wondered why – _why? –_ why did the universe have to be so unfair? Vegeta had done more to save the universe than all the humans on this planet put together; and what thanks did he get? Dying a slow death by something he couldn't stop, fight, or even _see._

I must have fallen asleep as well because I woke the next morning to find Vegeta and myself lying with him curled in my embrace. I opened my eyes and looked at his face. He was still pale like yesterday, but his expression was peaceful, relaxed. I smiled and leaned down to kiss him awake. My lips brushed against his and I paused. His fever was at last completely gone, and his skin felt cooler. Maybe that was why he wasn't so tense. He didn't wake up after the gentle contact of my kiss, and I just lied back down next to him, letting him sleep in. I let my eyes flutter closed for a second and relaxed in the presence of his ki. I blinked. I couldn't sense his ki; it had been very low yesterday, so I wasn't surprised.

I ran a soothing hand down his arm, stopping when I reached the wrist. His arm was cooler, like the rest of his skin. But it wasn't just cool, it was cold. Had he caught a chill, despite my efforts?

"Vegeta?" I asked, worried, watching his face. His expression didn't change, and I wondered if he'd heard me.

"Vegeta?" I repeated, shaking his shoulder like I had before, he didn't tense and open his eyes like before, he didn't respond at all. "Vegeta? Vegeta!" my litany became more frantic when he still didn't respond. _No…. please, gods, not now…_..

I laid my head on his chest, listening for his pulse. I waited in silent agony, counting the beats of my own heart, already shaking uncontrollably, fearing the worst.

Silence.

"No," I breathed, looking at the prince's slack face, feeling his cold skin against my cheek, feeling a pit of despair burrowing into my chest.

Vegeta was dead.

TBC


	21. Part 20:1

**Love Has No Cure**

Part 20:1 – Dead Inside

Vegeta was dead.

Some part inside of me insisted this was so, but the rest of me just couldn't comprehend it. I couldn't tear my eyes away from his face, I couldn't move, I could scarcely breathe. Surely I must be dying too? I couldn't live without him. So why was I still here instead of in Otherworld? Why was I still breathing? Why was my heart still beating? I felt hollow, empty inside. I could barely think straight, and my few thoughts could hardly be called that. I had no words. No words even now could describe the endless, hopeless anguish that sunk in deep, taking hold of my soul and rending it to pieces.

In other words, I lived; but I was dead inside.

Then the tears started, and once started they didn't stop. I took the prince's body in my arms and hugged him to my chest, burying choked sobs in lackluster hair that still smelled like him, like the beautiful, fiery aroma I associated with my love.

I could almost convince myself that he wasn't gone, that life still thrummed through the limp form in my crushing embrace. Almost. Something in the chaos of my mind nagged me that I should leave and tell people what had happened. I quashed the notion almost violently; how could I leave him? How could I go on living without him? I couldn't, obviously. I'd promised him that I'd die too. So why hadn't I?

I was a prisoner in my own skin. I lied down next to the prince's body, unable to make myself move. Maybe if I just lay there, I would join him in death. How long would it take? I didn't care. I just stayed there, unmoving, inhaling the fading scent of fire, of Saiyan royalty, until it was too stale to discern from the cold scent of death.

I don't know how long I lay there. Whether it was days or years it was all the same to me. My life, if you could call it that, became a barely-living hell; a stupor, a limbo between life and death. I was dead everywhere but the one place I needed to be. I kept trying to force my heart to stop, or hold my breath, but I couldn't think clearly enough to focus; and I think in some dark, twisted place in my mind, I was afraid. I was afraid that if I left the body I had always associated with the prince – I don't even think I could name him anymore for fear of giving name to death – I wouldn't be able to find his spirit when I did die. So I guess I did follow the human custom of fearing death, but for a different reason. I was afraid to let go of what I had in pursuit of what I wanted, I was afraid to trust death and so I didn't allow it to take me; despite every other nerve in my body screaming, praying for the end.

I didn't dream, I did sleep – not by choice – but my life was a nightmare, and my mind couldn't come up with anything worse to put into my dreams. I was aware of very little, save the presence of the deathly cold body beside me and the ache in my chest that never went away. Strangely, it was like I wasn't even there. I felt like I was completely blind and deaf, that I was only breathing because my body was a cruel prison that wouldn't let me go. I shivered and sweated and whimpered incoherent things to cold ears that would never again hear the sound of a voice, but mostly I just lay there.

There were times when I wondered if I _did_ actually die and that my afterlife was as tortuous as my waking world, but then I'd inhale the dead scent of my lost lover and I'd do one of two things: I'd go back into my life-death limbo without half a thought…. or I'd curl up and cry until I had no more tears to shed.

As I said, I _was_ dead. But only on the inside. I couldn't even _look_ at my lover's lifeless face anymore because my vision, and my whole world, was black, black, black.

TBC


	22. Part 20:2

**Love Has No Cure**

Part 20:2 – Gohan

I felt it. I didn't believe it at first, but I felt it. Vegeta's ki had been fading for days now, so I can't say I noticed when it vanished at last, but I'd have to be completely cut off to not feel the huge swing of ki that belonged to Dad. At first it was low, wavering, disbelieving; then it shot through the roof, it was like he was screaming on the inside, it was tormented and anguished and desperate and it was painful even to me. Then the rise in ki fell again, and it remained low, but extremely unstable and brutally, cripplingly, unbelievably sad.

I stood up from the dinner table suddenly, unable to bear it.

"I'm sorry Videl, Mr. Satan, but I have to go," I said shortly before rushing from the room, ignoring their perplexed glances and beginnings of questions.

I was halfway to West City when I ran into Piccolo.

"Did you feel it?" I asked breathlessly.

"Who didn't?" my old mentor growled.

I started veering in the direction of home, but Piccolo steered me west, "We have to tell Bulma first, so she can help," he said calmly.

I stared at him, "But something could happen; Dad could die!"

He didn't say anything; he just waited patiently for me to realize what I'd just said. I did a moment later and slapped myself in the forehead.

"If Goku does pass on it will be a blessing for him," the Namek said coolly once I'd realized my mistake, "Even if we do blast over there at full power, how are we going to help him? We need Bulma to give us the next course of action. She won't have any idea what's going on; she can't sense ki like we can."

I nodded and followed him to Capsule Corp, wondering in the back of my head how we were going to tell Bulma that her one-time lover was dead.

"Gohan? Piccolo? What are you doing here?" Bulma asked as soon as she opened the door.

Goten and Trunks were there, I'd completely forgotten. They rushed over, hyper as usual, and asked about a million questions that made my head spin.

"Vegeta's time on Earth has ended," Piccolo said matter-of-factly.

Bulma, Goten and Trunks stared for a good five seconds before the oldest of the three broke the silence.

"Vegeta's… dead?" she asked quietly, hiding her mouth behind her hand.

I nodded steadily, "And Dad's in a lot of trouble,"

Trunk's lavender eyebrows furrowed, "But Goku said when Dad died; he'd die too."

"I know," I said quickly, "But for some reason he didn't."

Goten just remained silent, the beginnings of tears in his eyes. He didn't let them fall, however, and I was proud of him for that.

"So what's going on?" Bulma asked carefully, her blue eyes demanding answers.

Piccolo beat me to it, "Goku's ki is going absolutely nuts, I know you can't sense it, but you boys must have," he directed the second half of the statement at Goten and Trunks. They hesitated; then nodded quickly.

"We need to help him somehow, but we don't know what to do," I added, "He's completely cut himself off from the world."

"Just like that one time," Bulma muttered, "Before he and Vegeta were together, when he shut himself away from people for a month and just deteriorated,"

I nodded hurriedly, "Except it's worse this time. I wish you could sense it – no, scratch that, it's too awful – but… it's just _unreal_."

Goten said something finally, his wide, shining black eyes fixed on me, "Dad's hurting," he murmured miserably, "What do we do, Gohan?"

Bulma answered for me, "There's only one thing we can do for him now,"

Piccolo sighed, "We don't have a method, and I'm _not_ shooting a Special Beam Canon through his heart again,"

Goten blinked, "What do you mean?"

Trunks's blue eyes met his younger friend's black ones steadily, "We have to help him… by ending his life; since he can't."

"You have to kill him?" Goten gasped, horrified.

"Goten," I said carefully, "He's suffering more now than anyone else would be able to cope with. He needs to be set free."

Bulma looked extremely sad, "I have a method," she muttered dejectedly, "But it might seem a little harsh."

I didn't miss a beat; if I could help Dad, I'd do it, "What is it?"

"Cyanide," she spat the syllables out as if the word itself was bitter.

Trunks's eyebrows shot up, "Poison?"

"I can't think of anything else short of snapping on a ki manacle and…" she trailed off, unable to finish.

Goten hesitated, "Will it…. will it hurt?"

"He can't hurt any more than he already does," Piccolo pointed out, "And no, it works almost instantly."

I said nothing. I hated the idea of my father; a proud Saiyan warrior, defender of the universe…. meeting his end with something as cowardly and crude as a suicide pill. Put down with a drug like a euthanized dog.

The ki signal of the Saiyan in question jumped suddenly, and I don't know about everyone else; but to me, it was like a drill was boring into my head.

I grit my teeth, "Do what you have to do, just make it stop…. For his sake."

Bulma nodded and hurried away.

"I don't like it," Trunks muttered, "It's stupid."

"What is?" Piccolo growled.

"My dad didn't have a choice, but this is just pointless… and if he doesn't take it himself it's murder; if he does it's suicide. Either way it's stupid." The lavender-haired teen crossed his arms.

"Stupid or not, it's all we've got to work with right now," I said slowly.

"So you're just going to go along with it and kill your own father?" Trunks snarled.

"I think it'd be a relief for him, honestly," Goten said, wincing as the unstable ki level spiked again.

Bulma returned with a sad smile; proffering a small container which Piccolo took.

"Go," she commanded me and the Namek, "And tell him to take care of Vegeta in Otherworld."

I smiled tightly over my shoulder at her implication of a brighter future. I sure as hell hoped it would be as easy as that.

X

The door was unlocked, no surprise there. I winced as we stepped though the doorway; it was even worse to be this close to the source of the wave of agony emanating from the depths of my father's shattered soul.

"Dad?" I asked gently as we rounded the corner of the upstairs bedroom.

Piccolo peered over my shoulder, "Goku?"

Judging from the level of chaotic energy pouring from him, I was amazed that Dad sat up and his empty, black eyes locked onto mine and stayed there. A chill skittered down my spine at the hopelessness, the immeasurable sorrow, in those twin ebony pools fixed on me.

"Gohan," his voice was like ice, there was no emotion there at all. I could tell he had been in a state of semi-insanity, which seemed to be calmer now. But it was even more disturbing to see this shell of a man; a body with no soul, completely empty inside.

And for the first time in my life, I was afraid of my father.

TBC


	23. Part 21

**Love Has No Cure**

Part 21 – The Beginning Of The End

I should have known Gohan and Piccolo would find me. I almost didn't recognize them; I almost didn't recognize anything, but at least my vision was normal again and I could think. _Fat lot of good that does me now,_ I thought bitterly, glancing at the body of my dead lover, _It still feels like there's a great big hole in me._

"Dad, we've come to help you," Gohan said shakily, his eyes flitting to mine and away quickly.

Some part of my soul-less, insane mind sneered;_ He's afraid of me._

The thought should have troubled me, but I just didn't _care_ about anything anymore. It was like Vegeta was the light in my world and when he died it was ripped away, leaving me with nothing but darkness.

"Goku," Piccolo said steadily, "We're here to set you free."

_Free? What use is freedom if I have no soul?_ I had to admit the offer was tempting, so I decided to listen instead of voice my thoughts.

The Namek held up a small plastic box, "Bulma sent this," he explained, taking a seat on the bed without being invited.

Gohan sat next to him, and the demi's hand brushed Vegeta's body as he sat back. I didn't think; I leapt to my feet and bared my teeth in a feral snarl, my tail bristling and lashing.

"Get back!" I shouted, Gohan flinched and stood away hastily, looking terrified.

"Calm down, Goku. No one's here to hurt you," Piccolo said gently.

I scowled, _Idiot, I know that. But the brat _touched_ Vegeta! How dare he?_

Fuming at the injustice of it all, I took my rightful place at Vegeta's side and stared the demi-Saiyan down, hardly listening to the Namek's lecture about sacrifice and choice.

"…So Bulma suggested cyanide," Piccolo said, I snapped to attention at the mention of the lethal drug, "But I won't do anything without your consent, Goku. You have to want this."

_Right now I only want you idiots to leave me alone,_ my thoughts yammered.

I knew somewhere in my maze of a mind that I was losing it, I was going insane; but a large part of me hurt too much to care, so I relied on my anger to cover my internal conflict.

"I know it seems easy," the Namek went on, "But before you jump at the opportunity, think about it. You've been given a second chance. You didn't die along with Vegeta, and if you value your life, don't give it up. It's your choice."

_How the hell am I supposed to make a choice if I'm insane?_ I thought sadly, _I have no clue what's right or wrong anymore._

"Dad?" Gohan asked.

I glared at him, _I'm still mad at you._

"Say something, please?" the half-Saiyan pleaded.

"What's there to say?" I snapped, meeting his gaze for a second.

A second was all I needed. The sorrow, the compassion and even the pity in the demi's – _my son_'s – face was enough to strike me to the very core and my breath hitched, my mind clearing. I looked at my friend and my son, seeing them as if for the first time.

"Do you want to do it?" my son asked.

Suddenly I was unsure. As long as I could remember, I'd said that life was precious and worth preserving. Didn't that mean my own was too? My eyes landed on Vegeta's body, still curled on the bed, and I made up my mind.

"Yes." I said with conviction, "I do." _I'll see you again soon, my prince._

Piccolo nodded in understanding and opened the container he was holding. He extracted a single white pill and held it between his forefinger and thumb.

"You're sure?" he pressed.

I nodded, "I made a promise," I said raggedly, "Besides, what life is there for me without him?"

The Namek hesitated a moment longer, then he smiled knowingly and placed the pill in my hand.

"Your mind's made up; I trust you, Goku." He said carefully.

Gohan looked up with mingling sadness and pride in his eyes, "Bye, Dad."

"Tell everyone what happened, okay?" I asked, hugging first Piccolo, then my son.

"Of course; take care of Vegeta," Piccolo said gently.

I smiled, "See you both on the other side, when it's your time."

They both nodded, and before I could change my mind, I put the pill in my mouth and swallowed.

The cyanide disintegrated on the way down my throat, causing a burning sensation in its wake. It was a mere few seconds before I suddenly felt dizzy and all the air was slammed out of my lungs. I felt the familiar, lulling sensation of death wash over me, and I gave in and collapsed.

X

I opened my eyes to find myself hovering above Snake Way. I glanced around at the pink sky and orange clouds; Otherworld, it had been only five years since I was here, and now I was back.

Now how was I going to find Vegeta? Finding one soul in a hundred trillion souls wasn't exactly going to be easy. _I could just ask King Kai, _I reasoned. And with that, I took off in the direction of my old teacher, hoping he'd have the answer.

I landed on the outcropping of rocks that King Kai called home now since his planet got destroyed – thanks to yours truly – and looked around for the guy in question.

"Hey, King Kai!" I shouted, my voice reverberating off the stone walls.

Not three seconds went by before the little blue guy appeared before me, looking startled.

"G-Goku? What are you _doing _here? Aren't you -?" his gaze – or rather, his sunglasses – travelled upward and I guessed he had noticed the halo that would definitely be perched above my head.

"Yeah, I kind of died again, long story," I said quickly, "But King Kai, I need your help."

His antennae twitched, "Uh… sure, Goku; anything."

"Can you help me find Vegeta?" I couldn't keep my tail still in anticipation.

"Why do you need _my_ help? Aren't you two -?"

I cut him off with a glance, "Um, yeah, but you see… he recently died too and I need to find his soul, so…"

"My guess is he'd be in Hell," the Kai muttered.

"W-what? But he's a good guy now!"

King Kai shrugged, "Either way, he's got quite the record…."

"Can you locate him?" I asked impatiently.

"Well sure," he said eventually, still looking reluctant. His long black antennae flicked forward a few times and he pointed, "That way, but I was right, he's definitely gone down below."

"Shit," I muttered, ignoring the Kai's flinch at my use of the swear word, and blasted off in the direction he'd indicated.

I couldn't Instant Transmit because Vegeta wouldn't have any ki if he was dead, so I flew along Snake Way, looking for a break in the clouds below. Finding one, I streaked lower, letting myself be pulled by Hell's intense central gravity. I cleared the cloud level and hovered over the vast landscape I'd recognize anywhere as Hell. I didn't have any ki to go by, so I had to trust my intuition and pray for luck. The ache in my chest where my heart should have been was no help in guiding me, so I picked a random direction and flew low, calling Vegeta's name and asking passerby if they'd seen the prince.

I was circling the Needle Mountain, still calling and flaring to Super Saiyan for whatever good that would do. I felt like I'd been looking for hours, or even days. I had to remind myself that time was different in Hell; it fluctuated and changed.

At long, long last, I heard a return call.

"Kakarot? _Kakarot_!" I whipped around, I got half a glimpse of the familiar form of Vegeta shooting towards me like a bullet before he bowled me over, knocking us both to the ground and tackling me like he was a young child. I barely had time to breathe his name and a sigh of relief before he was kissing me passionately, hugging me so hard I thought he was trying to crush me. I responded in kind, forgetting the world, disregarding the gawking inhabitants of Hell and everything else and just breathing in the fiery scent of my prince, devouring his mouth, and feeling the hole in my heart heal. Vegeta's shoulders were shaking, at first I thought he was crying, then I realized he was laughing; no, he was doing both at the same time, and he kissed me again briefly before sitting back with a grin.

"Kakarot," he smiled, sitting in my lap and running his fingers through my hair, "What took you so long?"

Suddenly it didn't matter, none of it mattered. Nothing in the universe except the happy, beautiful prince in my arms mattered at all.

"Long story, but it's not important," I purred, nuzzling his neck gently.

He laughed with pure joy and stole my lips again, and again; then he broke away, his eyes shimmering.

"Guess what?" he grinned. I'd never seen him so happy in my life.

"What?"

"I'm cured. I'm totally healed now," he said, "I don't bruise or anything; one of the cronies here body-slammed me into the ground and I didn't even get a cut."

"And you feel better now?" I asked hopefully.

"Better than I have in years, Kakarot. All the worry and tension is just gone; and as soon as you showed up my world was completed."

"Me too," I said honestly, twining my tail around his, "And now we can be together forever, I promise."

"Forever and ever, Kakarot, I love you,"

"I love you too,"

And for the first time in a long time, all was right with the world.

TBC


	24. Epilogue

**Love Has No Cure**

Epilogue – Beyond Forever

Vegeta's fingers were tangled in my hair, his lips were covering mine and our tails were twisted around each other in a single cord. He purred my name, whispering sweet, gentle words against my lips and tightening his grip in my black spikes. Concealed by the surrounding walls of the Needle Mountain, hidden from prying eyes, the prince lay astride my waist and seduced me; taking his sweet time re-learning every inch of my exposed skin, reinstating his own scent on me that had faded some since his death. I was only too happy to allow him full control; it had been too long since he'd felt up to it, and it was nice to be on the receiving end, just enjoying the sensation of skin on skin, and drowning in the burning scent and taste of my lover that was just as addicting as it had been the first time and every time after.

It had all been worth it; every decision and consequence, every choice and punishment; just to be in the arms of the man who loved me even as I loved him, who would die for me even as I died for him.

Time is hard to measure in hell; but I know we stayed there, surrounded by the towers of needles around us, for a long, long time.

X

(_Present day, nameless years later)_

I sit on the edge of Snake Way, thinking, remembering the past as I watch the orange and yellow clouds scud below my feet. A fluffy barrier to a hell I was welcome in. Years ago, I'd gone to see King Yemma and asked him to let Vegeta leave hell and come to Otherworld. He'd refused; I don't remember his reasoning, but he did. Much negotiating and reminding of debts later, he _did_ allow both Vegeta and I the ability to travel back and forth from hell. So in a way we didn't belong anywhere; but that would be the case in any scenario, so it suited us just fine, as long as we could be together. Yemma said we were a "special case"; and that we'd probably just break the rules anyway if he still refused. Damn straight.

I remember a long time ago I ran into ChiChi in Otherworld. She said nothing; nothing needed to be said. She just embraced me and then Vegeta – who was literally at my side almost every second of every day – and smiled before walking away. I think that's what they call acceptance.

Many of my friends have joined me in death over the years. Old age, battles and freak accidents alike brought us all together again. I don't see them often - death kind of complicates that - but I know they're here, and that – like me – they've been set free.

In hindsight, the things I worried about long ago, even the things I was willing to die for back in the day, seem insignificant in the face of what I have now. All I ever really wanted. Someone who accepted me for who I was, the world I called home finally at peace, and the promise that – no matter what – I'd never be alone.

"Feeling nostalgic, Kakarot?" Vegeta chuckles as he sits down next to me. I grace him with a smile, he'd always had the somewhat unnervingly accurate ability to know exactly what I was thinking; and that sixth sense had only gotten sharper since he spent nearly every waking minute in my presence.

"Just remembering," I mutter, leaning against his shoulder and fixing my gaze on the clouds.

Vegeta gets this lecherous smirk on his face that makes me want to either kiss the breath out of him or scoot away as fast as I can.

"What?" I blink, meeting his shadowed eyes hesitantly.

"Ginyu and I just had the most _interesting_ conversation," he replies, coiling his tail around mine stealthily.

"You and he actually get along well enough to talk civilly?" I ask doubtfully.

"Hell no. A good portion of the conversation was a shouting match," he says breezily, "But he made me a _wager_, you see."

Uh-oh. Captain Ginyu sports the talent of getting both Vegeta and I in some really awkward situations just by challenging the prince to do something stupid.

"He said he bet I couldn't get you to scream loud enough to annoy the Kais," he goes on, purring darkly, "While going about our _usual routine_," the last two words are breathed sensually in my ear.

Double uh-oh. The "routine" in question is something of fame among the inhabitants of Otherworld; and Vegeta knows all too well that Ginyu is going to lose that bet.

"I…but…. Vegeta," I plead; then I catch the look in his eyes and just sigh dramatically, "I can see I'm not going to be able to stop you,"

"I'm getting rather good at the puppy-dog eyes, aren't I?" he smirks, "It's not like you to complain, Kakarot, usually you beg me for this kind of thing."

I wouldn't go _that _far. But he's right, and it's not the routine I'm hesitant about, it's the impending embarrassment when the Kais honor their part of the bet and chew us both out for causing a "racket".

Vegeta grins and runs his fingers down the length of my tail, eliciting a low groan. He knows he's won already.

The prince then loops his own tail around my waist, undoing the blue sash tied there and fastening the length of cloth around my eyes. Blindfolded. Great.

I hear his breath in my ear, I feel his fingers toying with my sensitive tail, but I can't see a thing. Then I feel nothing for a moment and I wonder if he's even still there. I don't have to wonder long, however, because his lips are suddenly on mine, just long enough for me to succumb to the pressure and heat before he moves away, leaving me gasping for more despite myself. The next touch I feel is the gossamer contact of his tail fur on mine, making me moan. Oh, he is going to win this bet in a landslide.

I have no idea where he is, what he's doing, all I can do is sit still and try not to give in too quickly. I know he's going to win either way, he always does, but I hope to retain at least some of my dignity. Cursing Ginyu's name silently with every breath, I shiver as Vegeta's lips touch the base of my neck ethereally, before he takes the collar of my shirt in his teeth and pulls the garment off over my head without using his hands. I finally decide to just go with it. The end result will be the same anyway, why shouldn't I enjoy it?

"You know," Vegeta purrs, "I bet I can win this bet without even going the whole way."

I yelp at the hot, wet contact of the prince's tongue running from the side of my cheek, down my neck and shoulder blade in one long stroke. Somehow, not being able to see what he's doing makes the sensations that much more intense. He leans against me, startling me with the heat of his bare skin, closing his lips over the shell of my outer ear and licking down to the lobe slowly. I make a strangled, plaintive sound, gritting my teeth as he nips and licks my sweat-pricked neck. I feel the bite of the ridges at the edge of Snake Way digging into my legs as he pushes me to the very edge of it, combing his fingers through the fur of my tail and purring as he explores my skin with his mouth.

His lips and tongue leave my skin and I twist my head to the side for all the good it would do, searching for him blindly. He takes the tip of my tail in his mouth suddenly, sucking and nibbling the fur and hypersensitive skin as he leans further, pushing me forward slightly. I feel a rush of air past my face and let out a startled shout as we fall off Snake Way.

Still Vegeta doesn't relent in his efforts, his hands and mouth everywhere as we plunge through the layer of clouds below with a _whumph_ that sounds like a thunderclap in my ears. Something hard and hot brushes against my lower back and I realize he's naked. I know it won't be long before he attempts to remove the blue gi pants that are my last remaining garment, as that's likely the only way he'll be able to win this stupid bet. I pray that the people of hell – however evil and sadistic they may be – don't decide to look up as we plummet towards the ground, and Vegeta manages to wheedle out another moan from me as he drops a steamy kiss on my throat. Well, he doesn't seem to care, why should I?

If anyone is steering us through the air as we fall, it's Vegeta, since he can see and I can't. I don't know what he's planning; or why he allows us to keep falling instead of flying, but I can't help but feel a slight sense of comfort. I trust him. That much I know. He may embarrass me maliciously and tease me with a vengeance, but I know he'd never do anything to hurt me; so I let him take the wheel.

Suddenly there's a splash and we're submerged in something hot, sticky, and very wet. I have no Earthly idea why, but the sensation did nothing to take away from the effect Vegeta's work was having on me; if anything it _added_ to the erotic flame the prince had been fanning. Vegeta's arms lock around my chest and he guides us to the surface of what I picture in my head as a steaming lake. I draw breath, still in the prince's arms as he holds us afloat, his damp tail stroking down my side and sliding my gi pants off. Well, he won that one.

"Relax, Kakarot." He breathes in my ear, "Trust me."

The liquid stirs around my legs as Vegeta treads water – or whatever it is –I hear a needy little whimper, and it takes me a second to realize I was the one who made the sound. I can feel Vegeta's smirk against my lips as he kisses me again, doing nothing to remove us from the lake. His tail flicks between my legs, stirring up the hot liquid again. If I wasn't hard before, I am now; the prince's plan is working, however strange it may be.

Chest to chest, Vegeta draws me closer so that I can feel the undulating of his leg muscles as he kicks them to keep us buoyant. He shamelessly allows his arousal to brush against mine, making no apologies and expecting none from me. That was something I had always liked about Vegeta. He didn't care what other people thought; he was confident in everything he did; even if others questioned him, he was never contrite.

Needless to say, Vegeta kept up his efforts, touching and kissing every inch of my skin. I became steadily more vocal the longer he progressed, I thought I would spontaneously combust from the sensation of his skin against mine and the sweltering heat and steam wrapping around us both.

I couldn't see what he was doing, obviously, so I had no warning whatsoever before the wet fur of his tail curled around my arousal and squeezed, his tongue just barely grazing my neck. It was too much. I throw back my head and scream his name as I come explosively, flaring to Super Saiyan and creating a tide of waves in the molten liquid surrounding us.

The echo of my shout reverberates for miles; that's Saiyan lungs for ya.

Vegeta grins into my neck, "I guess I win that bet,"

I could barely reply for lack of air, gasping for breath as I recover, "I guess," I concede weakly.

He laughs, taking the blindfold off. We are alone – thank the gods, I'd been picturing an audience – and we're in the middle of the Bloody Pond. That explains a lot. The prince's damp hair is disheveled slightly, and as my own fades to black, I can hear the telltale sound of King Kai shouting from above the clouds.

Vegeta kisses me gently, ignoring the Kais' ranting, "If we go somewhere more _private_, I'll finish what I started."

I smirk and shake my head in amazement. Never one to apologize for anything, Vegeta simply raises an eyebrow and lifts us out of the red water, hovering above the Bloody Pond and still very naked. Then he blasts off, taking me with him as my wrist was still in his grip. I have no choice but to follow, and I wouldn't protest either way.

You know, I've had over a century to think about the definition of love. I've explained it in long and short terms alike and tried to think about what it _really_ meant, and _why_. I've defined and rethought and described it a hundred times, and I think I finally understand it now:

Love is going with someone anywhere, having no idea where they're going to take you, and trusting them to guide you safely no matter what…

….Even if it means flying behind them through the depths of hell without a shred of clothing on either of you.

THE TRUE END

~_Shinsun_


End file.
